The True Team 7
by Hina714
Summary: Summary: This the about story about team 7 with Hinata in the twist. She is on the same team as the boy she has a crush on and the most popular guy in the class. However what happens when Hinata feeling for Naruto to fade and her feeling starts tingling toward Sasuke. And Sasuke begins to have feelings for her. See what happens in their new life as Team 7. I DON'T OWN NARUTO!
1. Team 7 forms

Chapter 1

The classroom was full of students that pass the final examination, Naruto was among one of the students that pass after proving himself in front of his teacher/ father figure, Iruka-sensei. Shikamaru was coming down the stairs when he saw Naruto.

"Naruto, what are you doing here? This class is for the student who pass the final exam" Shikamaru said.

With an annoyed face, Naruto said " oh yeah, do you see what on my head? I passed and now I'm one of you guys!" Smiling afterwards.

While he was going on and on to Shikamaru, from a distance Hinata was in her seat with a small smile on her face. _Naruto you passed, I'm glad_ she thought to herself.

Iruka-sensei came into the room and got the class in order and began speaking.

" From this day forward, you are no longer mere students of ninjutsu, but full-fledged shinobi. However among the ranks, you are novices, the lowest of the low. Your greatest challenges lie ahead. Your next step is the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of our village. We will be dividing you into teams of three. Each team will be mentored by a jonin, a more senior ninja, who will guide and coach you." Iruka finished

After Iruka finished explaining, Hinata thought _That means I could be paired up with anybody in the class, maybe even with Naruto._ Looks over to Naruto with a small blush on her face.

Naruto thought _As long as I'm on the same team as Sakura, anyone is fine, except Sasuke._

At the same time Sasuke thought _Three men team? That's two too many_

Sakura thought _It's perfect! I know they'll team me up with Sasuke!_

Iruka-sensei goes on and notices the members of each team "Team 7 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuga".

_I'm on the same team as Naruto and Sasuke, I have to do my best not to slow them down Hinat_a thought to herself, determine on to be a burden on the other two.

"Sensei why does a great ninja like me have to be put with someone like Sasuke?!" Naruto complained, annoyed that he has to be in the same team with his nemesis.

"The idea is to balance your strengths, out of the class of 27, Sasuke's grades were the best, Naruto, your grades were the worst that's why you two were put together" Iruka explained.

Sasuke said " hmm just make sure you don't get it my way, you loser".

Naruto glares at Sasuke and yells " What did you say to me?!"

"I called you a loser, loser." Sasuke said as he walked out the room.

Later, most of the new teams went to have lunch together and get to know each other. However Team 7 went their separate way. Hinata was walking with a lunch in her hand. She thought maybe they could have lunch together and talk a little._ but I don't see them anywhere_, Hinata thought as she looked around.

Soon later she saw Sasuke leaning against a window in one of the buildings. _Oh Sasuke eating his lunch _she thought as she was looking for Naruto. Then Hinata saw Naruto, creep close to the window, jumps Sasuke. _What is Naruto what doing to Sasuke?! _

She was surprised to see Naruto attack Sasuke for no reason and looked at the closed window, worried as she heard a struggle. Then the window opened and she saw Sasuke climb out of the window with a smug smile on his face and watched him climb down and walk back to the school.

_Wait a minute, Sasuke never smiles like that_, she remembers how Sasuke would win training drills against their classmate and never smile for winning. She went to the front door of the room the boys were in and opened the door, finding Sasuke gagged and tied down.

_I was right, Naruto did win and he transformed into Sasuke but why? _She was happy that Naruto win something against Sasuke and felt bad seeing Sasuke tied up but was confused why Naruto transformed into Sasuke.

Sasuke was on the floor tied up, trying to get out of the ropes, _I underestimated Naruto. He couldn't even summon a perfect clone and now he can summon more than one?! I'll get him back for this,_ he thought as he saw the door open and sees Hinata come in. _Wait she's on my team too, Hinata Hyuga is her name but why is she here, whatever she can untie me. _

Hinata was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a grunt and saw it was Sasuke grunting at her. He looked at her with eyes that said are you going to stand there or are you going to help me? With a small blush on her face, she went over to him and started to untie him " Sorry Sasuke I-I was l-lose in thought" she said as she finished.

Sasuke got up and rubbed his wrist and looked at Hinata, sighing because he know he should thank her. "Thanks for getting me out of the ropes." He said

"O-Oh your welcome" she stuttered, surprised he thanked her _at least I know he's polite _she thought.

" But what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, curious about why Hinata came here.

Blushing, Hinata fidget and explained "W-Well I was going to a-ask you and N-Naruto if we c-could eat lunch together because we're a-a new team a-and we should get to know e-each other better, but I couldn't f-find you guys so I-I started l-looking. Then I-I looked up and saw you but I saw N-Naruto too and saw h-how he jumped you"

_So she came just to asks me and that loser to have lunch with her? She's like the other girls_, Sasuke thought before he heard she say something that caught his attention.

"As soon a-as the struggling w-was over, I-I saw you come out of t-the window b-but I was sure I-it was N-Naruto transformed as y-you, Sasuke" Hinata said

Sasuke was interested in what she just said " But how did you know it was Naruto and not me? Did he mess up the transformation? He asked

Hinata felt that Sasuke was still doubting Naruto's abilities but explained "It's because w-when he came out of the window, he h-had this smug smile on his face and t-then I know it wasn't you. Because d-during our t-training activities in class, when you w-won or g-got a good grade, you n-never smiled. S-So I came here to s-see if I was right. O-Oh and also to s-see if you were ok, she quickly added.

Sasuke was surprised to hear Hinata's explanation, he put his hands in his pocket and went to go find Naruto._ She's very observant of people and can tell the difference, maybe she's not like the other girls after all but it's still too soon to tell, but that kind of sight is useful in a team_, he thought to himself as he went back to the school.

After his counter with Sakura, Sasuke continue to search for Naruto, annoyed with both Sakura and Naruto. _I can't believe that loser transformed into to me just to get a kiss out of Sakura. And why the hell Sakura?! That girl is so annoying talking about loneliness as if it's not so bad_, he thought as he continued his search.

Sasuke was walking down the hall, when he saw Naruto running out the bathroom and confronted him.

Near it ran out the bathroom, _how can my body betray me like that I was almost about to kiss Sakura!_ He thought as he was about to rush back when he saw Sasuke. "Gah what are you doing here?! I thought I left you tied up!" Naruto stated confused on how Sasuke escaped.

Sasuke was about to explain but closed his mouth._ This loser will just complain to Hinata if I tell him she helped me and I'm not about to tell him I need help from anyone._ He thought as he said to Naruto "You think something like that can keep me down long? You're a bigger idiot than I thought."

Naruto yelled "What?!"

Sasuke continued " Anyway why did you transform into me?"

Naruto explained "I thought I test my moves on you and I think I still need practice" after that last word, he created 5 shadow clones and they all jumped into the sir about to attack Sasuke.

Sasuke looked annoy and got into a fighting stance. _The same trick_ he thought as he was prepared to take on all the Narutos.

"This time you'll stay down!" All 5 clones said as they were about to jump on Sasuke when their stomachs started to upset them. "Aww man, not again" They said as they rushed back to the bathroom. All of them pushing each other to get in first.

Sasuke watched as Naruto was fighting with his clone and sighs, "What a loser." And walked away, heading to the classroom where his team will meet their new mentor._ I'll get him back for his little stunt later"_ he thought as he entered the classroom.


	2. Survival exercise

Chapter 2

Lunch was over and the all the team went back into the school and stayed in different classrooms until their new teachers came to get them. 2 hours pass and team 7 was the only team still in the school waiting for their sensei. Sasuke and Hinata were sitting patiently while Naruto was in front of the door, sticking his head out, looking left and right for their new teacher.

Hinata looks at Naruto, finding the courage to talk to him "N-Naruto why don't y-you sit down and w-wait for our teacher. I-I'm sure they'll be here soon" Hinata said blushing.

" I don't want to. Everyone already met their sensei and are probably on some cool mission. How come were the only ones still waiting for our teacher? I'm ready to roll, Believe It! Naruto said

Hinata nods and sighs _I know Naruto is ready and willing to go on mission and all, but we still have lot to learn before we go on the really serious missions_ She thought.

Hinata came out of her thought as she hear a noise do something being dragged and saw Naruto putting a blackboard eraser on top of the almost closed door.

Sasuke looked as he heard the noise as well. _That loser is up to no good again, however his pranks does give me an idea on how to get back at him_ he thought as he was watching Naruto.

Hinata stood up from her seat and walked down to the front of the room, hoping to stop Naruto from doing his prank "N-Naruto what are you d-doing?! You'll get in t-trouble!"

Naruto grins, jumping down from the stool he used to put the eraser on top of the door "That's what he gets for being late!"

Sasuke closed his eyes "Our teacher is a jonin, an elite ninja. You think he or she will fall for a dumb trick like that?"

" I-I agree with Sasuke, your trick will m-most likely f-fail Naruto, so let's j-just take it down please" Hinata said hoping that both her and Sasuke's reasons were enough to make Naruto put the eraser back on the board.

Suddenly a hand came on the edge of the door. Everyone stop to look at what was going to happen with Naruto's prank. Their new teacher opens the door enough to get in, causing the eraser to fall on his head and down on the floor.

"Ha Ha Ha I got him, he totally fell for it!" Naruto said as he was pointing and laughing at his new teacher.

Hinata looked at her teacher with nervous eyes "I-I'm sorry Sensei, w-we didn't mean to do it" she said trying to convince her teacher it was an accident, so that Naruto wouldn't get in trouble.

Sasuke looked at his teacher with a blank expression _He actually fell for that cheap trick? Is this guy really a jonin? He thought as he turned his eyes to Hinata And why is she saying we? Naruto was the only one in on this prank._ He was confused on why Hinata was trying to cover for Naruto.

Their teacher picked up the eraser and looked at it,then closed his eyes "Hmm how can I put this? My first impression of this group is you're a bunch of idiots" he said calmly.

Team 7 new teacher led them to the top of a building. He was leaning against the rail while the others were sitting on the stairs. "Alright, why don't you introduce yourself one at a time?"

Hinata looked at her teacher "I-introduce ourselves? W-what would you l-like to know?"

The teacher shrugs " Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies. Things like that" he finished folding his arms.

"Why don't you tell us stuff about you first? You know so we can see how we should do it too" Naruto said, wanting an example on how to introduce himself.

"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake, things I like and things I hate, well I don't fell like telling you. My dream for the future? Well I never thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have a lot of hobbies" Kakashi said, finishing tell his team about himself.

_The only thing we know about him is his name_ Hinata thought as she was looking at her sensei.

Kakashi straighten up a bit "Ok now it's your turn, you with the blonde hair, you go first" he said.

Naruto smiles, fixing his headband "Believe it, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I like instant ramen in a cup and I really like the ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the village's noodle shop. But I hate the three minute when you pour the water in the ramen. My hobby is eating different kind of ramen and comparing them. And my dream for the future is to be the greatest hokage, then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm someone important.

Kakashi eyes widen for a second _Well he's grown up in an interesting way, hasn't he? H_e thought as he looked at Naruto. Kakashi gazed focused on Sasuke " Ok you with the mean look on your face, tell us about yourself."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I hate a lot of thing and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it into a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone" Sasuke finished.

Everyone was looking at him shocked at what he said.

_Man, I hope it's not me he's talking about destroying_ Naruto thought as he was scared of being near Sasuke at the moment.

_Sasuke what happened to you to make like this today? _Hinata thought as she remembered back to when she was seven and she saw a happy and carefree Sasuke.

Kakashi narrowes his eyes a little looking at Sasuke _Just as I thought _he thought to himself. Then final he turn his gaze to Hinata "Ok young lady, it's your turn".

Hinata blushes and fidgets with her hands " M-My name is Hinata Hyuga, I-I like p-peaceful walks, animals and" she glances at Naruto for a second " cinnamon buns" She said instead of what she was thinking. " I hate being c-called weak and I t-truly hate being a burden on others. M-My hobbies are t-training, c-cooking and knitting. A-And my dream is to b-become strong, s-strong enough not to be look d-down upon and not be l-labeled a burden, enough to protect the people most dear to me" She finished saying with determination in her eyes.

_Despite what she's going through with her clan, she still trying to go strong. She has an impressive spirit _Kakashi thought

Sasuke looks at Hinata with new respect in his eyes _She thrives for strength like I do, only she does it not only for herself but others too. She is different than all those other girls. But why on earth would she be into Naruto? Wait why does that bother me?_ He thought annoyed that he was letting a stupid thing like that get to him.

_Her dream is nice, I guess i don't have to worry about Hinata becoming hokage, she's not even going for tha_t Naruto thought.

Kakashi sighs and straightens up "Ok you're each unique and you have your own ideas, we'll have our first mission tomorrow."

Naruto salutes "What kind of mission are we going to have?"

"It's a task that the four of us will do together" Kakashi said

"What, What, What?" Naruto said excited.

Kakashi looked at them "A survival exercise"

"Huh? Survival exercise? I thought we would be going on a real mission, not more practice. We did this stuff in the academy" Naruto said confused and annoyed that they won't be going on a real mission.

"This won't be like your previous training" Kakashi said

Naruto looked even more confused "So um what kind of training is it then?"

Kakashi started to chuckling at the question.

Hinata was confused on why Kakashi was laughing "Um s-sensei, that was a n-normal question, why a-are you laughing?"

"Well if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it" Kakashi said as he continued to laugh. Then he stopped and looked at them with a serious look at his face " Out of the 27 graduates who just came here, only 9 will be accepted as genin, the other 18 was be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it pass/fail test and the chance you'll fail is at least 66%" Kakashi finished explaining.

Hinata and Naruto looked at Kakashi with shocked expressions on their faces. However Sasuke just looked at him with the same blank expression only his eyes narrowed.

"See I told you, you wouldn't like it" Kakashi said as he saw his students expressions.

"That's crazy! We worked hard to get here, Believe It! What the hell was that graduation test for anyway?!" Naruto said upset at the new information he just found out.

"Oh that, that is to select candidates who might become genin or not." Kakashi said casually.

Naruto whined "Whaaat?"

"That's how it is, I decided whether you pass or fail. Be at the training field at 5am tomorrow and bring you ninja gear" Kakashi explained.

Naruto was shaking in his seat _Argh! I'm not going to be weeded out. People are going to respect me one day. I've have to pass this test. Believe it, Believe it._ He thought to himself.

_I've worked hard to get where I am today. I want to become stronger to protect myself and others. I have to..No I will pass._ Hinata thought clutching her hand to her chest.

Sasuke clutches his hands together _So that's how it is huh? Well I don't intend on going back and wasting my time in the academy. I will become stronger_ he thought determined to pass.

Kakashi turns around and looks at the scenery of the building, waving his hand to his students "That's it your dismissed, oh and you better skip breakfast or else, you'll throw up"

Everyone got up and left to go home and prepare. Naruto raises his hands up as he walked with Hinata and Sasuke "I'm not going to pass this! We'll pass and become ninja! I'll see you guys tomorrow." He said then ran home.

Sasuke and Hinata were walking home. Hinata felt uncomfortable with the silence and tried to start a conversation. "S-So um your h-house is the s-same way as mine?" She said

Sasuke kept walking, looking ahead "Yeah it is, it's just a block or two from your place" he said.

Hinata couldn't think of anything else to say and just continued to walk with Sasuke until she was near home. Sasuke looked at Hinata, wanting to know something. "Hinata let me ask you something" he said.

"O-Ok?" Hinata said looking at Sasuke.

"Why do you like Naruto?" Sasuke said

Hinata stopped walking, seeing she was in front of her house and blushes really hard, to the point her face was as red as an apple. "W-What?! H-How did you?" She said wondering how he knew.

Sasuke stopped too and turned to look at her "When we were introducing ourselves, you paused as you looked at Naruto like you were about to say you like him" Sasuke explained.

Hinata looked at Sasuke and sighs_ I gave myself away. I need to be more careful_ she thought as she started to speak "N-Naruto is someone I've a-admire, no matter what p-people say about him, H-He doesn't let it get to him. He has a lot of confidence in himself and I wish to have that too" She finished explaining.

_I see, so that why she likes him._ Sasuke thought as he finished listening to her and walked away. However as soon as he was far enough for Hinata not to hear him, Sasuke said "Hinata, you have determination and a strong spirit, I know you'll become strong, just believe in that"

However Hinata eyes widen because she did hear what he said. She looked at Sasuke as he walked down the block _No one has ever said that to me before_ she thought blushing. She entered her home and went to her room, to prepare. As she did, Hinata thought back to what Sasuke said and smiled, looking out her window "Thank you Sasuke" she said.

Morning came, Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata all came to the meeting place from different directions. They all had their ninja gear and was ready for the exercise. However two hours pass and they were still waiting for Kakashi.

Kakashi came moments after, waving to them " Morning everyone, ready for your first day?"

Naruto stood up " Hey, you're late!" He said angry that they had to wait.

"Well a black cat cross my path, so I had to take the long path" Kakashi said.

_I have a feeling his lateness is going to be a normal thing for u_s both Sasuke and Hinata thought.

"Well let's get started" Kakashi said as he went to a tree trunk and lays a portable clock in the middle and sets it on noon to go off. "It's set for noon" he said and pulls out two bells and dangles them in his hand. "Your assignment is simple, you just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it. If you can't get them by noon, you'll go without lunch" Kakashi explained

"Whaaat?!" Naruto said

Kakashi looks at the training posts "you'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch as I eat my lunch in front of you."

Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata stomachs were growling as Kakashi finished talking.

_So that's why_ Sasuke thought as his stomach growled.

Hinata holds her stomach with one arm _He told us not to eat breakfast to make it harder on us _she thought but then notices something. "W-Wait there are 3 of u-us, w-why are only two bell?" She asked

Kakashi smiled through his mask "Well that way, at least one of you will end up post tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the academy. Then again, all three of you can fail too. You can use any weapon, including shuriken . If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to get the bells"

"B-But those weapons are too d-dangerous to use sensei, you'll g-get hurt" Hinata said worried about what will happen to their teacher if they use those weapons.

Naruto put his arms behind his head and grins "Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser" he said laughing

"Class clowns are normally the weakest links, you can safely ignore them, lowest scores, losers" Kakashi says to Naruto then looks at all his students "When I say start, you can begin"

Naruto stopped grinning and glares at Kakashi, pulls out a kunai knife and charges at him. However Kakashi appears behind him and twists Naruto's arm, so that the kunai knife was still in his hand but pointing behind his neck.

Hinata and Sasuke steps back with shocked expressions on their faces

"Don't be in such a rush, I didn't say start yet" Kakashi said while holding Naruto still.

_Sensei moved with such speed I couldn't even see him_ Hinata thought as she looked at her sensei in awe

_So this is a jonin_ Sasuke thought as he narrowed his eyes.

"But you did come at me with the intent to kill me, so how can I say this, I'm starting to like you guys" Kakashi said releasing his grip on Naruto.

Everyone got in position, on there feet ready to move

"Get ready...and Start!" Kakashi said and everyone scattered.

Moments after, Kakashi was in the middle of the training field alone. _Ninja must know how to conceal their movements and hide effectively_ He thought as he looked around. Sasuke was up in a tree and Hinata was underneath some bushes. _Well they understand that much, they've hidden well _he thought impressed with his team concealment but then see Naruto standing a few feet away from him. "Well I knew this was coming" he said

From her hiding spot, Hinata watches as the fight between Naruto and Kakashi went on._Naruto is trying his best to get a bell, he's so confident in himself, I wish I was like that too_ She thought as she watched Naruto try to land a punch on their sensei.

But then she thought back to what Sasuke said yesterday and smiles _Well I'm determine to pass this exercise, so I'll do my best too._ Then she looked at her sensei and the bells _He knows that we all want to pass and become ninja so why does he have only two bells?_ She starts thinking about it and realizes the answer _That's it I know what he wants from us_ she thought as she saw Naruto was hanging by a rope dangling and Kakashi was picking up the bell.

"Oh and if the bait is obvious, don't take it. A ninja must see through deception " Kakashi said to his dangling student.

"I get it" Naruto said struggling

"I'm telling you this because you don't get it" Kakashi said

Sasuke's eyes widen as he saw an opportunity to strike _This is my chance, he finally let his guard down _he thought as he threw shuriken at Kakashi.

"Will you ever learn..Argh!" Kakashi grunt as he was hit with shuriken.

Hinata gasps and Naruto jaw drops at what just happen. "He just got blasted with shuriken! Are you out of your mind Sasuke?! You went too far!" Naruto shouted to his teammate.

Sasuke watched as his teacher went down but gasps when he saw it was a log he hit instead. He started to move fast to find another hiding spot _Damn, another substitution jutsu and now he knows where I'm hiding, I have to move fast _he thought as he jump tree to tree._ I thought he lowered his guard but he did that on purpose and I fell for it._

In the bushes somewhere, Kakashi laid hidden from sight, watching Sasuke _So that's where he is_ he thought

Seeing that the coast was clear, Hinata got out of her hiding spot _Sensei went after Sasuke, I have to go help him but first I have to cut Naruto down_ she thought as she rushed over to Naruto.

Naruto saw Hinata coming his way "Hey Hinata, what are you doing out of your hiding spot?" He said

"I c-came here to h-help you down, N-Naruto" Hinata said as she pull out a kunia knife.

"I can do it myself, no need to help me" He said as struggled to get the rope cut. After a few minutes, he sighed and looked at Hinata "um I need help" he admitted

Hinata sighs and nods _You could have just let me do that in the first place_ she thought as she cut down Naruto.

Naruto landed in his feet and grinned "Thanks Hinata, Now I'll-" he started to say before he was caught in another trap again "oh come on! Two damn traps?!" He shouted. Hinata looked up "A-Again?!" She said then cut him down for the second time.

Naruto once again landed on his feet and turned to Hinata "Thanks again, Now I have to come up with a way to get a bell."

"N-Naruto I know w-what we have to do" Hinata said

"Not now Hinata, I'm thinking here" Naruto said trying to come up with a plan.

Hinata knew he was thinking, but she had to tell him she figured out what Kakashi wanted them to do "But N-Naruto I.." She was cut off again as Naruto walked away "I can't think with you distracting me" he said.

Hinata looked at the ground_ But I know what to do_ she thought to herself, a little depressed at what Naruto said. Then she remember something _Sasuke is still running from sensei! I need to go now._ She running through the bushes keeping herself hidden as she searched for Sasuke.

_I wonder if sensei caught him as I was helping Naruto_ Hinata thought as she was moving. Then she was pulled out of her thoughts as she heard a sound and stop, kneeled to the ground and peeked over the bushes to see Kakashi standing below her reading. _Thank goodness, I still safe,_ she sighed in relief.

"Hey Hinata behind you!" A voice behind whispered to her.

Hinata turned to see Kakashi and gasps, jumping back to keep a distance from him. But before she could get far enough, Kakashi made a hand sign and a small tornado of leaves gently surround Hinata. She was in a daze as it happened but when the tornado disappear she was out of her daze and look around. "What just h-happened? I knew sensei was h-here a second ago." She said out loud

"H-Hinata" two weak voices called to her.

_That's Sasuke's and Naruto's voice_ Hinata thought as she turned to see both her teammates severely injured and close to death. "P-Please help u-us" Naruto said coughing

Hinata was close to tears and shaking all over _N-No it can't be, just can't be_ she thought over and over in her head as she fell in her knees. _W-wait a minute, If Naruto was injured like this, he couldn't have made it this far_ she thought as she got up and looked behind them.

"And there is no trail of blood coming from them" she said as she was beginning to she what Kakashi did to her.

"This is a genjutsu, a battle style of Hypnosis". Hinata knew what she had to do. She formed some hand signs "Byakugan" she yelled, using the visual jutsu of her clan, she could see there was no one in front of her. _He almost got me just now but I manage to see through his jutsu_. She thought glad to see it wasn't real.

From afar, Kakashi watched her "She's very observant, managing to see through the genjutsu. Not only that, she also manage to figure out what I want." He said impressed with what he's seen with Hinata so far.

Hinata looked around with her byakugan and saw Sasuke a couple of feet away. "There he is" she said as she rushed over to him but as she was a few feet away, she saw Kakashi come out no where "Sasuke, behind you!" She shouted to him.

Sasuke heard a shout and looked in front of him "Hinata?" He said as he looked behind like she said and saw Kakashi and made distance between them.

Hinata came up to Sasuke and sighs in relief "I-I'm glad I found you in time" she said. Sasuke looked at her and back at Kakashi "Look Hinata, thanks for giving me the heads up but I'll take care of him myself" he said getting into a fighting stance.

Hinata couldn't believe that after everything she gone through, he wasn't going to let her help. But she wasn't going to take it this time. "N-No I'm going to h-help you" she said getting into her fighting stance.

Sasuke looked at Hinata and saw the determination in her eyes. _She's not going to take no for an answer this time_ he thought as he sighs. "Do what you want but I still don't need it" he said

Kakashi looked at the two _Well this will be interesting_ he thought. "Well I'm waiting you two, show me what you got" he said

Sasuke threw shuriken at Kakashi but he dodged them. "That won't work on me" Kakashi said. Sasuke gave a look and cut the rope to the trap he laid out. _A trap?_! Kakashi thought as he jumped out the way before the flying weapon could hit him.

_Damn I'm not close enough for hand to hand combat _Sasuke thought as he realized he wouldn't make it in time to catch Kakashi off guard but what happened next surprised him.

"Gentle fist" Hinata said as she was able to catch Kakashi off guard and attack him. She tried to land a hit on him, hoping to distract him for Sasuke. From the corner of her eye, Hinata looked at Sasuke, giving him a look hoping he knew what to do. _Go on, now's your chance, Sasuke_ she thought.

Kakashi dodged and blocked hinata's attacks. _She's trying to hit me but at the same time not, don't tell me_ Kakashi thought as he heard a sound behind and saw Sasuke running to him to get a bell. _She's distracting me!_ As he realized what was going on, Kakashi grabbed Hinata's arm and threw her to Sasuke.

Sasuke saw this and was ready and caught Hinata in his arms while Kakashi made distance between himself and his students.

Sasuke straighten up and helps Hinata onto her feet. Hinata accepts his help and stands up "T-Thanks for catching me" she says thanking him.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi as he answered her "Your welcome, but I wouldn't need to catch if you weren't in the way" he said to her

Hinata ignored what he said, sticking to her word and stands by him. _He may not want my help but I know he can't do this alone._ She thought as she waited for someone to make a move.

Sasuke's eyes narrow "Hinata get behind me" he said to her. Hinata looked at him _What's he planing?!_ she thought as she did what he said. Sasuke inhales and quickly form hand signs to perform a jutsu and inhales more, _Fire style, fire ball jutsu_. Sasuke said in his head as he blew a large ball of fire from his mouth.

_What?! Genin can't do fire jutsu takes to much chakra_ Kakashi thought surprised at what he saw.

Hinata watched in awe as she witnessed Sasuke performing a high level jutsu. _Amazing, he's able to perform fire style jutsu and he just came out of the academy _She thought as she saw the fire clear.

Both students saw that their teacher was gone. Hinata came out from behind Sasuke and looked around "W-Where did he go?" She asked. "I'm not sure" Sasuke answered her as he searched for Kakashi.

Out of nowhere, smoke bombs landed in front of both. Sasuke quickly cleared his eyes but Hinata wasn't so lucky. "Ahh I-I can't see. I-it's tear gas smoke bombs!" She yelled rubbing her eyes. Sasuke couldn't open his eyes to see her but tried to reach out to her "Hinata just calm down and relax" he said before a hand came out from the ground and grabs his ankle and he yelled as he was dragged down

"Earth style, head hunter jutsu" Kakashi said as he pulled Sasuke into the ground.

"Sasuke?! Are you ok? W-where are you?!" Hinata shouted still couldn't see because of the smoke.

After a minute, the smoke cleared and Hinata was standing in the middle of where the attack started alone. _I-I think the smoke cleared but I still can't see_ she thought as she went into her weapon bag and pulled out a bottle of water. _It's a good thing I packed this, I didn't think I would use it for something besides drinking._ Hinata poured some water into her hand and washed her eyes out. As soon as she did, she was able to see again. "That's better" she said to herself and looked around to see Sasuke's head popping out of the ground a few feet away from her.

Sasuke was struggling to get out of the ground when he saw Hinata looking at him and a tint of pink came to his cheek. _I can't believe someone is seeing me like this, it's so.._ He come out of his angry thoughts when he heard a sound that was like music to his ears. He looked up and saw the sound was Hinata giggling. He saw her cheeks were pink and her bright smile as she giggled. _She's cute when she giggles_. He thought

Hinata came up to him as she was finished giggling "I-I'm so sorry, Sasuke but it was a bit funny" she said apologizing to him.

Sasuke was once brought out of his thought and blushes _What's going on?! Why did I think she was cute when she laughed?_ "Whatever just help me out of here" he said.

After a while, Hinata manage to get Sasuke out of the ground. "You o-ok?" Hinata asked

" I'm fine, just covered in dirt" Sasuke said as he patted himself down.

Hinata thought that this was her chance to tell Sasuke what she figured out. However when she was about to get his attention, she heard the timer of the clock go off. "Damnit we wasted to much time" Sasuke said as he turned to Hinata. "Come on, it's time to go back" he said to her. "R-Right" Hinata said, _In the end, I wasn't able to tell them_ she thought as she walked back with Sasuke.

As soon as they got back, Sasuke and Hinata sat on opposite sides of the post Naruto was tied to. Kakashi was in front of them with his arms crossed.

"Uh oh, stomachs growling huh? That's too bad. Oh about this exercise I won't send any of you guys back to the academy" Kakashi said

Naruto cheered as he heard that, while Hinata thought _This can't be right? Can it?_

"Yes because all three of you are being dropped from the program, Permanently!" Kakashi said in a harsh tone.

Hinata and Naruto gasped at their teacher and Sasuke just glared at him.

"Drop us from the program?! That means we can never become ninja! You said if we couldn't take the bells, we'd be sent back to the academy! You can't just change your mind and kick us out! Why would you do that?!" Naruto asked while struggling with the ropes, upset and confused.

"Because you don't think like ninja. You think like little kids, like brats" Kakashi answered

Sasuke glared intense and he charges at Kakashi, Hinata saw this and tried to stop him. "Sasuke, Don't!" She said but it was too late because in the blink of an eye, Kakashi sat in top of Sasuke, holding Sasuke's arm and had his feet on top of Sasuke's head. "You think it's all about you, huh?" Kakashi said as he was pinning down his student.

"You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think it's a game, huh?" Kakashi asked his students but no one answered. "Why do you think we put you on squads? Have you considered that?! Did you realize what this exercise was all about? There are 3 people on a squad, why do you think we would do that?" Kakashi asked again but with a harsher tone.

"Argh how the hell are we suppose to know why you pick three people, we didn't make the rules!" Naruto said frustrated.

Kakashi looked at Hinata "From the beginning, you caught on, didn't you Hinata?" He asked her. Hinata looked at him and nods "Yes I did, Kakashi-sensei, I-it was during y-your battle with N-Naruto"

Naruto looked back and forward at Hinata and Kakashi "What's going on? What did she caught onto?" He asked. Sasuke was still grunting under Kakashi but he manage to look at Hinata for an answer.

"If I could only pick one of you three to be ninja, I would pick Hinata." Kakashi stated.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at Hinata with shocked expressions while Hinata was blushing looking at the ground, avoiding the stares of her teammates.

"The answer to the questions I asked is simple: It's teamwork and out of the three, only one of you asked like a team player" Kakashi said.

Naruto looked at the bells "But wait, there are three of us and only two bells, even if we caught them, we would fight over who got the bells" he said

"Exactly, I purposely pinned you against each other to see if you guys would put the squad ahead of yourselves. A genin should have a natural feel for teamwork" Kakashi said.

"Hold on, Hinata is a nice person and all, but how is she the only one that gets your praise?" Naruto complained

"Because she's the only one who showed teamwork. Naruto, you did everything on your own, Everything . Sasuke, you thought the other two weren't in the same league as you, that they were useless, you two were arrogant." Kakashi said to the boys in a harsh tone and sighs then looked at Hinata. "However Hinata acted differently, She take advantage of my absence and cut you down from the tree, twice Naruto." Kakashi said as he saw the look at Naruto's face change from upset to guilt. "Sasuke, despite the fact you didn't want her help, Hinata still helped you by managing to distract me while you tried to get a bell. Not only that, she took the time to help you out of the ground knowing that time was running out." Kakashi said to Sasuke and saw that he had stop struggling. "The last thing, Hinata had figure out the aim of this exercise and try to tell you two but Naruto, you were too wrapped up in thinking of a plan to get a bell for yourself , you didn't listen instead you walked away. Sasuke, well I can't say anything because time ran out before she could tell you." He said as he got off of Sasuke and walked to a large stone with lots of writing on it.

"On every mission, your life is on the line" Kakashi said as he stopped in front of the stone. "Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it, they are all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village" He said

"That's it, that's it, that's it, I decided I'm going to have my name engraved on that stone" Naruto said grinning.

Kakashi looked back at Naruto "They are..a special kind of hero" he said to his student.

Still smiling, Naruto said "Huh? What kind of hero were they? Come on tell us!"

"They are all K.I.A"said Kakashi

"Wow, that sounds cool" Naruto said.

"N-Naruto. KIA means killed in action, t-they all died" Hinata explained to him

"This is a memorial stone, the names of my closet friends are engraved here" Kakashi said mournfully looking at the stone.

Everyone bow there head with a mourning look on their faces.

Kakashi straighten up and turned to his students" Ok, I'm going to give you one more chance. However I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength but Naruto isn't allowed to have any." He said

Naruto grunts at his teacher.

"It's your punishment for trying to eat by yourself and if anyone tries to feed him, that person will instantly fail. I make the rules, you follow them, got it?" He said in a dangerous tone.

While Kakashi was gone, Sasuke and Hinata were eating the lunches their sensei brought, while Naruto was looking at them. A loud growl came and they turned to look and see it was Naruto's stomach. "This is nothing, I can go without food for days, for weeks, Believe it" he said trying to act tough but another stomach growl came and he whimpers "No problem" he said but with less energy this time.

Sasuke looked at Naruto while he was eating and sighs, leaving half and holds it up to Naruto. "Here, eat" Sasuke said

Naruto looked at him "Huh?!" He said surprised that Sasuke was giving him food.

Hinata looked just as surprised "b-but what about what s-sensei said?"

"I don't sense Kakashi anywhere. Besides we need to get the bells as a team, if Naruto is hungry, he'll be weak and ineffective. That hurts the team and puts the mission at risk" Sasuke said as he looked away.

Hinata looked at Sasuke, _He just doesn't what anyone to fail, despite his outward appearance, he cares about us_ Hinata thought as she held her lunch up to Naruto. "H-Here Naruto, have mine t-too" she said

"Thanks you guys really" Naruto said, very grateful to his teammates.

"Just hurry up and eat, Kakashi could be back at anytime" Sasuke said as he looks around, checking if his teacher was nearby.

"But I can't move my hands. Hinata, you'll have to feed me" Naruto said

Hinata blushes and looked at Naruto "Y-You want me to?"

Sasuke turns and looks at them with a shocked and angry expression and quickly takes his chopsticks and hold up a piece of rice to Naruto "Here you loser, just eat"

Naruto had a weird look face "Huh? I'll just have Hinata feed-" but he was cut off by Sasuke. "Hinata was the one who figure out everything and tried to help us but we were too stubborn. She deserves a meal to herself. Don't you think, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

After thinking about it, Naruto said"Yeah, you're right, Sasuke"

Sasuke sighs in relief _I don't know why but there is no way I'll let Hinata feed him_ he thought as he still held the piece of rice up to Naruto.

Hinata blushes at the kind gesture and smiles "Thank you, you guys"

Sasuke cheeks turned a little tint of pink "Whatever. Just eat and that goes for you too, Naruto"

Naruto smiled "We got it!" He said before eating the food being him.

Suddenly a huge gust of wind blow at them and the food was blown out of their hands. Hinata yelped, covering her face. As soon as Sasuke heard Hinata, he rushed in front of her to protect her if needed.

"You!" Kakashi appeared with a evil look on his face. "You broke the rules, I hope your ready for your punishment" he said as forming hand signs, the sky turns dark and the clouds were swirling around and lighting coming down. "Any last words?" he asked

Naruto was scared but shouted "Y-You said there were three of us and that why Sasuke and Hinata" he looked at his teammates.

"We're all on this squad and we're all in it together" Sasuke said glaring at Kakashi.

From behind Sasuke, Hinata stood on her knees "Y-Yes, we gave N-Naruto our lunch because the three of us are one!" She said

Kakashi looked at them and smiled "You passed" he said as the sky cleared up.

Naruto said "Huh? But how?"

"You three are the first ones that ever succeed, the other did everything I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception, in the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true." Kakashi said looking at the sky "However, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum" He finished saying.

Everyone smiled at what Kakashi said. "H-He's pretty cool!" Naruto said moved to tears.

"Everyone has passed, Team 7 first real mission is tomorrow" Kakashi said giving them thumbs up. "Come on let's go home"

"Hey, Hey untie me first" Naruto shouted

"Oh s-sorry Naruto" Hinata said cutting the ropes Naruto was in.

As they were walking home with Kakashi along side them, He spoke "Hey, I know I was hard and kind of harsh with you guys today, so how about tomorrow morning at 8am I treat you guys to breakfast, I know this restaurant with high quality stuff"

Naruto jumps up "Alright!" He cheered

"T-That sounds wonderful, thank you s-sensei" Hinata said

"Hmmm why not" said Sasuke

"Great I'll see you all tomorrow where we met up today" Kakashi said before disappearing.

Everyone went their separate way home. As Sasuke was walking home, he overheard about how Naruto painted hokage mountain and smirk. _Now I know how to get back at that loser_ he thought as he went into his place.

The dead of night came and Sasuke was painting over the hokage mountain just like Naruto did but this time he made the paint look like makeup. He painted the hokages cheeks, lips and eyes. It was about 5am by the time he was done, so he quickly but quietly creep near Naruto's open window to find him still asleep. He left the paint cans on the floor and careful put the paint brush in Naruto's hand, then smeared Naruto's cheeks with paint. He nodded at his handy work and left as quietly as he came.

Team 7 was on their way to the restaurant, when Iruka-sensei appeared with an angry look on his face "Naruto, you're in for it now!" He yelled

"Huh? What did I do?" Naruto said confused

"Don't play dumb! You know what you did!" Iruka shouts as he points to hokage mountain. Everyone on Team 7 was looking at Sasuke's work but thought it was Naruto's fault.

"B-But I didn't do it" Naruto said while shaking his head.

"Don't ask innocent! I went to your place and saw the cans of paint and the paint brush! You're going to spend the entire morning cleaning hokage mountain again" Iruka said as he grabbed Naruto by the collar and starts dragging him away.

"B-But I was suppose to have breakfast and Kakashi-sensei was paying!" Naruto said struggling and whining

"You won't get any food until that mountain is spotless!" Iruka said

Kakashi and Hinata walked ahead, not wanting to hear Naruto's whining but Sasuke stayed behind a bit and smirks as he saw Naruto being dragged away "Now we're even, loser" he said before jogging back to Hinata and Kakashi to go enjoy a nice meal.


	3. Home renovation

Team 7 was on a small bridge waiting for Kakashi to come with their mission. They were told to meet there in the morning, but of course Kakashi is late.

"Argh! I can't take this! Is this how it's always going to be?! We come at the time he arrange and then he shows up hours late!" Naruto yelled "I could have gotten an extra hour to sleep!"

Sasuke and Hinata were standing by him, quietly as they watched Naruto blow off some steam.

_I knew this would be a regular thing for us_ Hinata thought as she sighs

Sasuke fold his arms as he leaned against the rail _As much as it annoys me, I have to agree with the loser, I have no time to waste waiting for our unpunctual sensei_ he thought.

"We should do the same thing to him next time" Naruto said to his teammates.

Kakashi appears behind Naruto "Do what Naruto?"

_It's strange how he comes at that very moment_ Hinata thought as she looked at her sensei. "G-Good morning Kakashi s-sensei" she greeted him.

Kakashi smiles through mask "Good morning to you too, everyone. Sorry I'm late but I was saving a kitten stuck in a tree."

"You liar!" Naruto yelled after he heard the lame excuse.

"Whatever" Sasuke sighs, tired of the meaningless subject "So what's our mission for today?"

"Well our mission is house renovation" Kakashi said

"H-House renovation? You m-mean we're fixing someone's house?" Hinata asked

"That's right, an old women have asked the hokage for ninja to fix up her house while she's away for a few days, but I'm sure we can get to job done by tonight" Kakashi explained

"Alright, let's do it" Naruto said with energy

Team 7 went to the house and saw the work that needed to be done. The windows were broken, the roof was falling apart, the grass reached their knees and the paint was old and tired out

"She lives in this dump?!" Naruto said shocked at the condition of the house

"N-Naruto t-that's rude, I-I'm sure she has a r-reason for this." Hinata said

"Remember that storm that happened a while back? Well this is the result of it. Her husband passed away years ago and her son is away on a long term mission, so there was no one to prepared the house for the storm." Kakashi explained

"So we're going to fix the roof and paint the house?" Sasuke asked

"And fix the windows and cut the grass" Kakashi added

"Aw man, this isn't a mission, this is chores! When are we going on a mission that's actually a real, real mission?!" Naruto asked

"When the hokage gives us one but for now, we do what is asked of us. So suck it up and let's get to work" Kakashi said

Naruto folds his arms and pouts "Fine, so what's first?"

"Well first she left us most of the supplies needed for the house, so let's get started with what we have" Kakashi said

Hinata sees a shed and went over to it, opens it and sees the supplies "I f-found them"

Kakashi comes to the shed and inspects the supplies "Looks like she left things for us to cut the grass and fix the windows, so we'll start with those two first. Naruto and I will handle the windows. Hinata, Sasuke, you two cut the grass"

Sasuke looks at Kakashi "Are you sure you want to trust Naruto with tools? He can barely use his ninja weapons" he asked

Naruto glares at Sasuke "I can use my ninja gear just fine, I can use them better than you, Sasuke! Just watch I'll have those windows done before you finish half of the grass!" Naruto yelled, grabbing the tools and runs back to the house. That is what he would have done, if Kakashi hadn't grab him by his collar. "You won't be doing nothing with the windows without my instruction. Stop getting ahead of yourself, Naruto" Kakashi said.

"Let go, I'll show Sasuke he's wrong " Naruto said struggling.

"N-Naruto, have you e-ever fixed a window?" Hinata asked her teammate

Naruto stopped struggling and looks at Hinata "No but that won't stop me" he said grinning

_That's what worries me. How can someone fix a window if they've never fix one before?_Hinata thought

Sasuke sighs and grabs one of the lawnmowers and gives it to Hinata then takes the grass cutter "Let's get this over with, Hinata"

Hinata takes the lawnmower, looking at Sasuke "A-Are you sure you w-want to use that? It may t-take a while with a grass cutter"

"I'll be fine with this, it won't take that long" Sasuke said as he walked back to the front of the house and start cutting.

Hinata nods, following Sasuke and starts mowing the other half of the lawn. Kakashi drags Naruto inside the house and they got to work on the windows. After a while, the windows and the grass were done. Naruto was arguing with his sensei about being slow.

"Kakashi-sensei, I wanted to finish before Sasuke but you wanted to follow your stupid instructions. I couldn't beat Sasuke this time!" Naruto said in a upset and annoyed tone

Kakashi hits Naruto upside the head "Think for a second Naruto, windows are tricky to fix and grass is easy to cut, of course it would take longer. If we didn't do it right, it would fall apart" Kakashi explained

"Even if that was the case, I know that if I was helping with the windows, we would have finished in less time than you did with Kakashi, loser" Sasuke said

Naruto glares and was about to pounce on Sasuke but Kakashi grabbed his collar again "Let me go, I'll show him who's boss" Naruto yelled as he struggled to reach Sasuke's neck

"Right now, I'm the boss of both of you and I say cut out the nonsense. We still have work to do" Kakashi said.

Hinata looked at her teammates and sighs _I hope they'll put aside their rivalry during missions, this could be a problem with our teamwork _she thought. Then she looked at Kakashi "W-What's next, sensei?"

Kakashi went back to the shed and looks through the rest of the supplies "Well the last things we need to do is paint the house and fix the roof. I don't think we have enough nails for the entire roof and she only left a note with the color she wants the house to be painted, so Naruto and I will get started on the roof with the nails we have so far, Hinata, you and Sasuke go into town and buy the paint and nails we need for the house"

Sasuke took the note and looks at it "Did she leave any money for us to buy the paint? I'm not spending my money for this. "

Kakashi sighs and looks at the house, pulling out his wallet and giving Sasuke the money "Buy at least 3 cans of paint, it's a small house, so 3 cans should be enough, oh and some paint brushes too"

"We'll b-be back soon" Hinata said as she went off with Sasuke.

Kakashi wave bye to them and turns to Naruto "Ok Naruto, let's get started on the roof"

As Naruto and Kakashi started fixing the roof, Sasuke and Hinata were in a store in the village where they sell supplies for home renovations. Sasuke had already gotten the nails and was with Hinata as she was finding the color their client wanted. "O-On the note, s-she said she wanted blue, b-but blue isn't just blue these d-days" Hinata said

Sasuke looks that what Hinata sees and sighs "What the hell is all this? Midnight blue, sky blue, baby blue?! I don't see a damn difference in the two" Sasuke said annoyed at the problem they have. "So what do you think, Hinata?"

_The shade of the house was a green color, the paint color is old but the shade of it must have been a light_ Hinata thought "I-I think we should get a-a light blue color" she said

Sasuke nods "Ok ask for the color well I go to the bathroom,ok?" He said as he went to find the bathroom.

Hinata asked one of the employees for 3 cans of light blue paint and waited for them to get back with the cans. As she was waited, Hinata saw a blur of pink and looked closer, seeing it was Sakura. _What is Sakura doing here?!_ Hinata thought

Sakura came into the store to buy some paint because her mom decided to repaint the kitchen. As she was looking for the paint, she saw Hinata and her eyes widen "Hinata?! What are you doing here?!" She asked

"O-Oh hi Sakura, I-I'm here on my mission" Hinata said

Sakura looked confused "You're standing in a house renovation store near paint session for your mission?"

Hinata shakes her head "N-No, I'm standing here because I'm w-waiting for the cans of paint I need and I'm a-also waiting here for Sasuke."

"Sasuke's here?!" Sakura said excited to see him

_Maybe I shouldn't have told her that_ Hinata thought as she nods to Sakura.

_This isn't fair at all! I should be the one here with Sasuke! I should have been the one to be on the same team as him!_ Sakura thought as she looked at Hinata but then got an idea.

Sakura smiles at Hinata "Hinata, we're friends, right?" She asked

_I don't like where this is going _"I-I guess so" Hinata said

"Great, so you'll be a great friend and switch teams with me, right?" Sakura askedhappily

"I-I beg your p-pardon?! W-Why would I-I do that?!" Hinata asked

Sakura pouts "You said you were my friend"

Hinata sighs and looks at Sakura "Sakura, t-the truth please?"

"Fine I have two reasons why I want to switch. One, I can't stand my teammates, one of them is so annoying, so wild and he smells like wet dog. I mean I like dogs as much as the next person but come on. And the other one is a bug user, A freakin bug user, I hate bug so much" Sakura complained

_She must be talking about Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame_ Hinata thought as she remembers them from class. _Kiba is the one with the little dog, Akamaru and Shino is the one with the interest of bugs. _

"Two, Sasuke and I are meant to be together, so it's obvious we should be on the same team" Sakura explained

_Last time I checked, Sasuke tries his best to keep his distances from you_ Hinata thought as she heard Sakura's second reason. "S-Sakura I can't do t-that and I-I won't do it" Hinata said

"What?! Why not?!" Sakura said annoyed

"Because we were put on these teams for a reason, remember? It was to balance the strength of each team" Hinata explained

"So? They were wrong, I know it!" Sakura said

"No, they weren't Sakura, they checked, remember?" Hinata asked as she remembered the day the teams were decided. She recalled how Sakura and most of the other girls in the class asked why they weren't pair with Sasuke. And how Iruka showed them exactly why but Sakura kept thinking it was a mistake.

Sakura was red with anger "They lied! I know I'm right for Sasuke's team!"Sakura shouted

"Right for who's team?" A voice came out of no where

Both Hinata and Sakura turned their heads to see Sasuke waking toward them. Sakura had hearts in her eyes "Sasuke!" She said as she attempted to give him a hug but he moved out of the way.

"What are you doing here, Sakura?" Sasuke asked

Sakura smiles at him "I came here to get something for my mom but then I saw Hinata and I had this great idea. The idea is that I could switch teams with-" but she was cut off by Sasuke.

"No." Sasuke simply said

Sakura's smile lessened "B-But I didn't get to finish my sentence"

"There's no point in finishing it when I know what you're going to say. You want to switch teams with Hinata and the answer is No" Sasuke said

Sakura stopped smiling as she heard him "B-But why Sasuke?"

"Sakura you already know why. Hinata is in our team because she strength balance mine and Naruto's strength" Sasuke explained

Sakura looks on the ground and sighs _I can't believe he won't let us switch team. Does he really not want me on his team?! No I won't accept this. I'll just try again some other time_ she thought looking back up at Sasuke and smiles "Ok fine, I'll stop this time. But I've decided I'll help you with your mission"

_Crap! I thought she would just leave after that. She so annoying! _Sasuke thought as Sakura wrapped her arms around his.

Hinata looked at the both of them, _Sasuke doesn't like Sakura but she's so persistent. Sasuke will be in a worse mood than he already is if Sakura comes with us_, Hinata thought as she turned to see the cans of paint she asked for have arrived. She went and found the paintbrushes they need, after she went up to the cashier and paid for everything. "I-I got the supplies we n-need" Hinata told Sasuke.

"Good, now we can head back" He said as he tried to get Sakura to let go of him.

Sakura held him tight and smiles "Ok, let's go"

Hinata look back and forward at them "I-I'll just go on ahead" she said and started to walk ahead.

Sasuke watched her until she was out of sight._ I can't believe she left me like this. Probably left so she can be with that loser. Damnit, why does that idea annoy me so much?!_ He thought as struggled against Sakura. He narrowed his eyes at her showing how annoyed he was. "Didn't you say you came here to buy something for your mom?" He asked

"Yeah, but I can just make up an excuse. If you ask me I think she's just doing it because she's bored" Sakura said smiling, ignoring the way Sasuke was looking at her

Sasuke sighed and was ready to push Sakura off when he saw Iruka come up to them. "Iruka, what are you doing here?" He asked his former teacher

Iruka smiled at his former students "Hello to you too Sasuke and to you as well Sakura. I was going for a nice walk when I came across your mother, Sakura"

"M-My mom? Did you talk to her Iruka-sensei?" She said

"Yes I did and she seems very annoyed at you for some reason. So I suggest you go back to her immediately" Iruka advised Sakura

Sakura looked at her sensei and back to Sasuke and sighs "I guess you're right, sensei" she said as she let go of Sasuke. "Ok I'm going to get what she needs and go home. I'll see you later, Sasuke. Try not to miss me too much!" She said as she blew a kiss and ran back into the store.

Sasuke sighs in relief and was about to leave when Iruka grabbed his arm and pulled him quickly into a space in between two buildings at was a short walking distance from the store Sasuke was just in.

"Iruka, what are you doing? Why did you-" Sasuke stooped as he saw bags of the painting supplies. _That's the bags of supplies Hinata and I just brought. _He thought as looked through the bags. _If the bags are here and Iruka led me here, then that means_ he turned to see Iruka disappeared into the smoke and Hinata was standing where Iruka was.

Hinata looked at Sasuke and gives him a small smile "I-I'm glad m-my plan worked."

Sasuke looked impressed with Hinata. _She used a transformation jutsu to transform into Iruka in order to get Sakura away from me._ Sasuke thought, then picked up the supplies and turn to Hinata "Come on let's get back back to the house" he said as he began to walk back

Hinata nods and walks back with him. As they were walking, she tried to reach for one of the bags to carry but Sasuke pulled them closer to himself. "This is my way of thanking you for what you did for me back there" He said to her

"Oh I-It's nothing Sasuke, r-really I was j-just helping my teammate" She said to him. "Besides,You didn't seem too h-happy when she was h-holding onto y-you."

"That's because I wasn't. I'm tired of having girls screaming in my ear, fawning all over me, asking me to go on a date with them. They say that I'm shy when I just reject them, but I know they use that as an excuse to keep bothering me." Sasuke said

"Y-You don't seem bothered b-by that. I-I've always seen you walk away acting like it's no b-big deal" Hinata said

Sasuke stopped walking and looks at Hinata "A ninja should never show emotion. So I don't show mine"

Hinata looks back at Sasuke "Sasuke we maybe ninja, b-but we are a-also human. A-As humans, we show o-our emotions when w-we want to or when we need to. M-Maybe if you share y-your thoughts, I-It might help ease w-what you're feeling"

Sasuke listens to what Hinata said and looks on the ground _that would be nice but who would I talk to? I can't talk to Kakashi, I don't trust him and the loser, forget it he'll just laugh at me. But maybe?_ he thought as he looked at Hinata "So if I need to vent my feelings, can I talk to you?" He asked Hinata

Hinata eyes widen as she heard him. _He wants me to help him?! I can't believe it! She _thought surprised at the request but smiled as she was happy to help "Y-Yes, w-what you say is just between y-you and me"

Sasuke looked at Hinata and for the first time truly smiles at her "Thank you, Hinata" he said then started walking again

Hinata's heart skipped a beat as she saw Sasuke smiled. She never saw him truly smile. _Maybe smirk once twice but never a real smile. H-He has such a wonderful smile too_ she thought as she caught up with him to go and finish their mission.


	4. Demon Brothers attack

The day was nice and sunny but the air was tense as Team 7 was on a mission in the forest.

"This is Sasuke, I'm at point B" he said through a device that allow him to communicate to his team members from a distance.

"T-This is Hinata, I-I'm at point C" she said through the same device.

There was a pause "Hey Naruto here, I'm at point A, Believe it" he said

"You're slow, Naruto" Kakashi said as he screened the area and sees the target moving. "The target has moved! Follow it!"

Team 7 peeked over where they were hiding and quickly moved into a new hiding spot, closer to their target without it noticing them.

"Ok, now what's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked

Naruto looked at the target from where he was hidden "5 meters, I'm ready, just give the signal"

"I'm ready too" Sasuke said

"A-As am I" Hinata said

"Oooook, NOW!" Kakashi yelled

All three of them jumped out to ambush their target from all three sides, knowing one of them would catch it.

"I got him, I got him!" Naruto said, being the one who caught their target, which happen to be a cat.

The cat started attacking Naruto. As that was happening, Sasuke confirmed to Kakashi that they caught their target.

When they got back to the academy, they went to the main floor, where they receive their missions. They went and returned the missing cat to his owner and saw how the owner was hugging and squishing him.

Naruto was laughing at the misery of the cat " Ha Ha Ha stupid cat! That kitty deserves to be squashed!"

_Now I see why the cat ran away, she's practically suffocating the poor thing_ Hinata thought as she watched the poor cat being squished to the point of death.

A man clothed in white robes and wearing a red and white hat known as the Third Hokage spoke "Ok, for Team 7 we have several available task. Let's see we have babysitting the chief consoler three year old, helping his wife do the shopping, digging up potatoes and."

Naruto cut the Third Hokage off, making a X sign with his arms "Hold it! I want to go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid stuff. Come on old man!

_He's got a point, this is kid's stuff were doing_ Sasuke thought agreeing with Naruto

_Why can't Naruto speak to the Hokage respectfully?_ Hinata thought, hoping the Hokage wasn't annoyed at Naruto's tone or request

_-Sighs- I knew this was coming _Kakashi thought looking at his student

Iruka slams his hands on the desk he was sitting at next to the Hokage "How dare you! You're just a brand new genin with no experience! Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!" He said in a stern tone to his former student.

Naruto stood his ground and yelled "Are you serious?! How the hell is babysitting a mission?! It's just a stupid-" before he could finish, he was knocked upside the head by Kakashi causing him to go face first on the floor.

"Will you put a lid on it?" Kakashi said

"Naruto, it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given" The Third Hokage said to him as Naruto was rubbing his abused head. "Listen, many different kinds of request come into our village everyday. From babysitting to assassinations, these request are carefully recorded, analyzed, then ranked A, B, C, or D depending on their difficulty. We, ninja, are also ranked by our ability. Hokage at the top, jonin, chunin, and genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we select the missions and a sign them to ninja with the appropriate skill and experience. And if the mission is successful, we receive a fee at supports our village and our work. Since you are untried genin, just starting down on the shinobi path, you are given D rank assignments of course" he explained but sees Naruto ignoring him and talking to his team.

"Silence!" The third said annoyed

Kakashi rubs the back of his neck "Oh sorry" he said apologizing for listening to his students story instead of to the Hokage.

"You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something. But I'm not the little brat who use to pull pranks all the time. I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" Naruto demanded turning his back on the Hokage, folding his arms pouting.

_Oh boy, I'm going to hear about this later_ Kakashi thought rubbing his head

The Third Hokage chuckles, _Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat, he's a former brat and he wants a mission._ Then looks at Hinata and Sasuke _And those two want to prove their strength and improve more too, I guess I can allow a higher ranked mission_ "So be it" he said

All three students looked at the Hokage with surprised expressions "Huh?"

"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey" the Hokage explained

"Really?! Yes! Who?! Who?! Are we guarding a princess or a consoler?!" Naruto asked excited

"Don't be so impatient, I will bring him in now. Send in our visitor." The third ordered

The entire team turned as the door behind them opens to reveal an old man with glasses and a bottle of sake in his hand. "What's the? A bunch of little snot nose kids?!" The man said as he took a big gulp of his sake. "And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really expect me to believe your a ninja?"

Naruto looks at his teammates and laughs "That's funny but isn't that a little mean old man? Hinata's face isn't that bad"

"H-Huh?!" Hinata asked touching her face, feeling hurt and confused . It was true she was the shortest one on the team but no one could tell because she looked to have the same height as Naruto. _N-Naruto thinks my face is bad_

Sasuke glares at Naruto after hearing the comment about Hinata and seeing the hurt in her eyes, knocking Naruto upside the head. "You stupid idiot, take a good look at who he's looking at"

Naruto rubbed his head and was about to return the favor but did what Sasuke told him and saw the old man looking directly at him "Me?! Why you?!" goes to pounce on the old man but was held back by Kakashi. "We don't attack our clients Naruto, it doesn't work that way"

The old man take another drink of his sake before speaking "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely even if it means giving up your lives"

"Well Mr. Tazuna I assure you, we will do what we can and bring you there unharmed" Kakashi said

Tazuna snorts and finishes his sake "See that you do, we leave tomorrow morning, I'll see all of you at the village gate" With that said, he leaves.

After saying goodbye to the Hokage, Team 7 was walking home while Kakashi was speaking "Listen you guys, The Land of Waves will take us a while to get to. So make sure you pack everything you need, ok?" The students nods " Good, then I'll see you guys in the morning" He said going in the other direction.

Naruto jumps up and down in excitement "I can't wait for tomorrow! Finally a chance to test my skills. This is going to be great, Believe It!"

"L-Let's just do o-our best to get Mr. Tazuna t-there safely" Hinata said

"Yeah, Yeah that too. Stupid old man, thinking I have an idiotic look, I'll show him I'm a real ninja and then we'll see who's the idiot!" He says punching the air then sees he has to change direction to get home. "Well see you guys tomorrow!" Naruto said before dashing home.

Sasuke and Hinata starts walking home together again, it's been a normal thing for them since their homes were only 2 blocks away from each other. Hinata still had a hand on her cheek, thinking about what Naruto said earlier.

Sasuke notices this in Hinata as they were walking. _That idiot really got to her, saying she's the one the old man was talking about. She doesn't look like that at all. She shouldn't let Naruto get to her, she shouldn't even be into Naruto._ He thought still annoyed at Naruto for the comment he made with Hinata and even more annoyed he's feeling dare he say maybe jealous of Naruto. _I don't understand why am I jealous of that loser? _

As soon as she was in front of the gate to her house, Hinata turned to Sasuke "S-See you tomorrow, Sasuke"

"Hinata, wait a second" Sasuke said before she entered the gate.

"W-What is it?"

"You know Naruto is an idiot that shoots off his mouth all the time"

"W-Well I do a-admit he does go a bit over the line, but I-it's not all the t-time"

Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck and sighs "Don't feel down about he said, your face is not idiotic. You look fine just the way you are"

Hinata blushes at the comment and smiles gently at Sasuke "T-Thank you for saying that S-Sasuke. I-I won't let it get me down"

Sasuke looks at the ground, feeling his cheek getting a bit warmer and turns to start walking home, giving Hinata a wave goodbye.

The next morning came and everyone met at the gates of the leaf village and started to get going. Naruto was walking ahead of everyone and turned to them, pumping his fist in the air "Yeah! Alright!" He grinned

"What are you getting so excited about, loser?" Sasuke asked

Naruto ignored the loser comment and looks around the area "This is my time I've ever left the village. I'm a traveller now, Believe it!" He said excited

Tazuna points to the excited boy and looks back at Kakashi "Hey, am I suppose to trust me life to thibs runt. He's a joke"

Kakashi forces a chuckle "He's with me and I'm a jonin, so you don't need to worry"

_Why did we have to get this old geezer to guard? I'm going to cut him down to size right now!_! Naruto thought then turn and point to Tazuna "Hey, never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake! And I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday I'm going to be Hokage and you'll look up to me! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, Remember it!"

Hinata smiles as she heard Naruto. _He's so confident in himself and he states it like it's a fact, I wish I was like that._

Tazuna takes out another bottle of sake and starts drinking it. "Hokage are powerful and wise, you are puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage, I'll sprout wings and fly"

"Argh! Shut up! I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja, including you"Naruto said yelling at Tazuna.

Tazuna gave him a look "You can become Hokage ten times over and to me, you still be nobody, a loser"

Kakashi sighs and sees Naruto about to attack Tazuna and holds him back "I told you, you're suppose to protect the client, not attack him"

Up in the tree from a distance, two people with scary looks on their faces were watching the team and Tazuna.

The group has been walking from the late in the afternoon in silence, Hinata was feeling uncomfortable with it and tries to start a conversation "E-Excuse Mr.T-Tazuna, the country you w-were born in is Land of Waves, c-correct?"

Tazuna keeps looking ahead "Yeah, what of it?"

"S-Sensei, are there n-ninja in that country?" Hinata asked

Kakashi looks at her "No, there are no ninja in the Land of Waves. But in other countries, there are hidden villages, each with their own different customs and cultures where ninja reside. To the people of this continent, the existence of shinobi villages mean strength, military strength. In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of strength with neighboring countries. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government, they are independent and have equal status. Now a small is island like the Land of Waves has natural protection from the sea, so there's no need for a ninja village. The five ancient lands that possess shinobi villages are the Lands of Fire, Water, Lightening, Wind and Earth. They each occupy vas territories, together they are known as the five great shinobi nations. The Land of Fire-the village hidden in the leaves, The Land of Water- the village hidden in the mist, The Land of Lightening- the village hidden in the clouds, The Land of Wind- the village hidden in the sand, and The Land of Earth- the village hidden in the stones. Only the leader of these hidden villages are permitted the name "Kage", which means shadow. These are the shadows that rein over thousands of ninja"

Hinata looked at her teacher in awe "A-Amazing, Lord Hokage i-is just amazing" _I never thought that the Hokage was that important, it's so wonderful!_

_That old geezer fell for my sexy jutsu technique, so he can't be that amazing_ Naruto thought nodding to himself.

"Hey! You all just doubted Lord Hokage, that's what you were thinking, weren't you?!" Kakashi asked. Naruto just stood there, shaking his head, but Hinata turns to her sensei with an honest look on her face about to say what she thought, however Kakashi gently patted her head and smiles at her through his mask "I know you wouldn't have ill thoughts toward the Hokage, Hinata, so don't worry". Hinata sighs in relief and gently smiles back. "Well anyway, there are no ninja battles in a C ranked mission, so you can relax" Kakashi said

Hinata's eyes lit up "T-That means we won't run into a-any foreign enemy ninja or a-anything else" she said relieved to hear there won't be a battle during this mission.

"Not likely" Kakashi said chuckling.

Besides him, Tazuna was sweating a little as he had about there being no ninja battles. Hinata, being the most observant one on the team, caught this and started feeling nervous again. _I really hope Mr. Tazuna is sweating because he's warm._

The group continue their journey, as they were walking, Hinata spotted a puddle._ I don't remember it raining in the village, so how is there a puddle?_ She thought as they pass by the puddle. As they were few feet away from it, two ninja emerged from the puddle. One of them threw the other at the group with a spike chain connecting to him.

"What?!" Kakashi saw them but before he could do anything, was caught in the two ninjas chains

"Huh?!" Naruto said shocked

"Sensei!" Hinata yelled as she saw what was happening to her teacher

Before anyone could help, the two ninja signaled to each other and pulled on the spiked chains so hard that Kakashi was torn to shreds.

Hinata was shocked and shaking but pushed her fear fear aside and quickly got in first of Tazuna in order to protect him. She, then saw the ninja behind Naruto "NARUTO, LOOK OUT!"

Naruto looked behind him and saw the ninja were about to attack him, but he was too scared to protect himself or even move. Before they could touch Naruto, Sasuke jumped into action. He used a shuriken and a kunai knife to pin the ninja's chain to the tree. Then he jumped onto the metal claws they were wearing, held onto them and back kicked both of them in the face, causing them to break from their chains.

However the two ninja weren't down yet. They both scattered, one went after Naruto, the other went after Tazuna and Hinata. Naruto was still scared but saw the ninja and panicked, hit the ground and covered his head with hands.

Hinata saw the other one coming straight for her and Tazuna._ I can't let him hurt him, I have to stop him now!_ "Mr. Tazuna, please stay behind me!" She activated her byakugan and got into her fighting stance.

Sasuke's eyes widen as he saw the ninja scattered. He saw both go after his teammates but focused on Tazuna and Hinata, saw her protecting the bridge builder and the ninja was coming straight at her. _No, Hinata!_ He was quick and got in front of her, his arms spread out and was ready to protect her.

As the ninja was about to strike, Kakashi appeared and knocked him out with one arm as he was holding the other unconscious ninja in his other arm. Everyone was shocked to see that Kakashi was ok and unharmed.

Hinata smiles and tears up a little, _Kakashi-sensei is ok, He's ok, Thank goodness!_

_Hmm He's a show off_ Sasuke thought with an unimpressed look on his face.

Naruto was shocked and awed at seeing his Sensei but quickly sat up "B-But he was?!" Then looked back at where the two ninja attacked Kakashi to see cut pieces of a log."Kakashi-sensei used the replacement jutsu."

Kakashi looked at his student "Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that."

Tazuna sighs in relief, _So they did save me after all._

"Good job Sasuke, very smooth. You too, Hinata" Kakashi said to his other students.

Naruto started to get up but was lost in his thought. _I was so useless and Sasuke had to come and save me. How lame! He didn't even look scared_!

Sasuke was about to say something Naruto when he saw Hinata walk over to Naruto to check on him. He glared at them and looked the other way. _I did most of the saving and she goes off to him, unbelievable!_

"N-Naruto are you o-ok?" Hinata asked

"Y-Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it." Naruto said looking at the ground and started walking ahead.

"Naruto! Stand still, these ninja have poison in their claws. We need to take it out of you quickly" Kakashi said. Naruto looked at the wound on his hand and grunts "You have to open the wound and remove it, it's in your blood so don't move around. That spreads the poison"

Hinata looked at Naruto worried for his health, then remembers Sasuke was fighting them and rushes over to him, takes his hands in hers and looks for any injuries.

Sasuke blushes a little as he was fussed over by Hinata and takes her hands away from his arms and kept them his hands "I'm ok, Hinata don't worry about me" he said taking his hands off hers.

Hinata looks at him and sighs in relief "O-Oh good, I was worried, y-you were fighting, I-I was afraid the poison w-was spreading in you"

"By the way Mr. Tazuna" Kakashi started

Tazuna backed away a bit "Y-Yeah, what?"

Kakashi turns to him "We need to talk"

After tying the ninja that attack them to a tree, Kakashi and the other stood a distance, looking at them. "They are chunin from the village hidden in the mist. Their speciality is relentless attack, they keep fighting no more what the sacrifice" Kakashi explain

"How the hell did you know about our ambush?" One of the mist chunin asked

Kakashi looks at Hinata "Hinata I'm sure you know. You are the observant one"

Hinata thought about what she's seen during the journey and remembers the puddle "I-It was the puddle! I was w-wondering about h-how there was a p-puddle but no rain"

Kakashi nods to her "Correct, good observation"

"In the case, why did you leave it for the genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked

"I could have taken them out quickly, but then I would have learned nothing." Kakashi gives Tazuna a sharp look "I have to know who their target was and what they were after"

"Just what are you getting at?!" Tazuna demanded

Kakashi straighten up and turn to Tazuna " This, I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highway men. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B ranked mission or higher, our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently you have your reasons but lying to us is not acceptable, we are now beyond the scope of this mission"

Hinata walked up to Tazuna and gave a sympathy look "Mr. T-Tazuna, I understand y-you might n-not have enough m-money and wanted good protection a-at a low cost, but we're genin, t-this level of m-mission is too a-advance for us. I-it would be b-best if we go back and we really s-should treat N-Naruto wound and r-remove the poison right away"

Kakashi looked over at Naruto and looked away as Naruto was looking back at him "Naruto's hand could become a problem, I guess we should go back to the village"

Naruto glares at his sensei and takes out a kunai and stabs himself in the hand with it, getting the poison out. Everyone give him a shocked expression. "Upon this wound, I make this pledge never to run away again. Bridge Builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife." He grins at Tazuna and everyone "Don't worry, I'll be fine"

"Uh Naruto, that was really cool how you took the poison out and all. But if you lose anymore blood, you're going to die." Kakashi stated

Naruto turns a bit blue sweating bullets and shaking his bloody hand, panicking and moving around. Kakashi stood in front of him and grabs Naruto's hand and checks it._ The wound is already starting to heal. This healing power, is it from the Nine Tail Fox?_ He thought as he bandaged his students hand.

Sasuke thinks about what was happening and smirks _So this is a B ranked mission huh? This means more ninja are coming, this is the perfect chance to test my skills and see how strong I've gotten_. Then looks at Hinata and his smirk lessen _But it also means Hinata will get hurt, I'm having mixed feelings about this now._

Kakashi finished helping Naruto and looked at the sky, seeing the sun was about the set. "We'll discuss our next move tomorrow, for now we need set up camp for the night."

Everyone nods and starts setting up for the night. Hinata was going through her bag and found her tent, smiling. _Oh good, I was a bit of a rush this morning, I'm glad I remembered to pack my tent_ she thought as she started to set it up.

Naruto was looking around in his bags, pulling out bowls of ramen, his clothes, pjs, and toothbrush. "Perfect! I have everything I need"

Kakashi looks at the things Naruto packed and sighs "If that's true, then where is your tent?"

"My tent?" Naruto looks around and dumps everything out again and searched around but slumps "I-I forget it"

Kakashi sighs again "You really are different from the others". He looks around and sees Sasuke still setting up his tent, Tazuna against the tree with his tent finished, and Hinata almost done with hers. _Tazuna is our client, so it would be rude to ask him to share his tent. Hinata is completely out of the question. So.._"Sasuke, you and Naruto are sharing a tent tonight"

"Why the hell am I sharing my tent with a loser?" Sasuke asked annoyed

"Why the hell am I sharing a tent with that jerk?" Naruto asked with the same annoyance as Sasuke

The night came and the fire they made was blazing in the middle of the camp site. Naruto and Tazuna were already in tents, sleeping. Kakashi was leaning against the tree sleeping, saying he was going to take a nap before he guards the night. The only ones up were Sasuke and Hinata.

Hinata was gazing into the fire thinking about the day and the challenge ahead and sighs. "Everything will be fine, you don't need to worry" Sasuke said looking at her, thinking the same thing she was thinking of.

Hinata looked up from the fire at him "H-How can you be so sure? We are only g-genin, we s-shouldn't be continuing this mission. I-I know it's important for t-the Bridge Builder to return home but t-this is too much"

"As long as we work together as a team, we'll be able to do this mission with no problem" Sasuke assured her

Hinata looks at him and her voice sound with hope "You really think w-we can do this?"

Sasuke looked at Hinata, saw how the fire's glow brought out her eyes and gives her a small smile "I know we can"

Some of the worry and anxiety that weighed on her heart lessened a great amount as Hinata saw that smile again. She smiled back at him "T-Thank you for a-assuring me, Sasuke" she said as she got up and went to her tent. Before she got in, Hinata looked back at him "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked up at her, giving her his attention.

"Y-You have s-such a nice s-smile, you should s-show it more" Hinata said before saying good night and going into her tent.

Sasuke sat there alone with a blush on his face and sighs, looking into the fire "She thinks my smile is nice, huh?" He said to himself, feeling his heart pounding fast at what Hinata said and looked up at the moon. _It's almost the same color as her eyes_ he thought to himself but shaking his head, rubbing his forehead "Damnit, what is this feeling I feel towards her?" He asked himself sighing, getting up and goes to his tent.

Unknown to Hinata or Sasuke, Kakashi was awake, listening to their conservation. As he saw Sasuke go into his tent, He sat there, beginning his watch, chuckling to himself. _Oh, to be young and in love_


	5. Enter The Demon: Zabuza!

The next morning, Kakashi decided that they would take the bridge builder to the shore, but the team had to be very alert now. The sky was gray and foggy and they were in a boat, sailing to the Land of waves.

_This fog is very thick, unless I use my byakugan, I won't be able to see a thing._ Hinata thought not being able to see a thing due to the fog.

"The bridge isn't far now. Our destination is just ahead, The Land of Waves" The man rowing the boat said

As they were close to the Land of Waves, they were able to see the unfinished bridge Tazuna was working on.

"Wow, it's huge!" Naruto said with a big smile.

"Quiet! I told you to be very quiet, why do you think we're traveling like this, huh? Cutting off the engine and rowing, moving through the dense fog, so they don't see us" the man said

Naruto quickly covered his mouth as he and his teammates were listening to the guy rowing the boat.

Kakashi sat there, looking at Tazuna "Mr. Tazuna before we reach the pier, I want to ask you something." He said but Tazuna kept listening with his head bowed, his hat covering his eyes "The men who are after you, I need to know why? If you don't tell us, I'm afraid I'll have to end this mission when we drop you ashore"

Tazuna raised his head and looked at the team "I have no choose but to tell you. No, I want you to know the truth. Like you said, this is beyond the scope of the original mission. The one who seeks my life is a very short man, who cast a very long and deadly shadow."

"A deadly shadow? Hmm who is it?" Kakashi asked

"You know him or at least I'm sure you've heard his name before. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world, the shipping magnet Gatou!" Tazuna said

Kakashi eyes widen "Gatou?! Of Gatou transport? He's a business leader, everyone knows him"

Naruto looked excited "Who? Who? What? What?"

_Well almost everyone_ Kakashi thought

"Gato, he's a very powerful tycoon from a famous company, that's true. But below the surface, with the same ruthless methods he uses to take over businesses and nations, he sells drugs and other illegal items using gangs and ninja. It was one year ago when Gatou set his sight on The Land of Waves. He came to our island and use his vast wealth to take total control of our transport and shipping, anyone who tried to stand in his way simply disappeared. In an island nation, a man who controls the sea controls everything. Finance, government, our very lives but there's one thing he fears, the bridge. When it is complete, it will join us to the land and that will break his control" He looks up at his unfinished bridge "And I am the bridge's builder"

"I-I understand, b-because you're the one i-in charge of the construction of t-the bridge, y-you stand in this g-gangster's way" Hinata said putting it in simple terms

"That means those guys that we fought in the forest, they were working for Gatou" Sasuke said

"I don't understand. If you knew he was dangerous, knew he'd send ninja to eliminate you, then why did you hide that from us?" Kakashi asked in a sharp tone

Tazuna looked down "Because the Land of Waves is a small, impoverish nation. Even our nobles have little money. The common people, who are building this bridge, they can't pay for a A or B ranked mission, it's too expensive. If you end the mission when you drop me ashore, there will be no bridge. They'll assassinate me before I reach home." He, then looks up at everyone "But don't feel bad about that, of course my sweet little grandson will be upset, he'll cry Granddad, I want my granddad! Oh and my daughter will condemn the ninja of the hidden leaves denouncing and blaming you for abandoning her father and living her life in sorrow"

_For someone who says not to feel bad, he's giving us plenty of reasons to. And after what he said his daughter might do, I feel like this is a guilt trip and blackmail all roll into one._ Hinata thought feeling conflicted about this mission

"Oh well, it's not your fault, forget it" Tazuna said

Everyone sighs and Kakashi taps on his headband "Well, I guess we have no other choice, we'll have to keep guarding you"

Tazuna puts on a feign surprised look " Oh, I'm very grateful" _I win! _He though congratulating himself.

"Everyone, we're approaching the shore" The man said as he was getting them there "Tazuna, we've been very fortunate so far, no one has noticed us so far."

"Nice going" Tazuna said

They sailed to a tunnel that leads to the shore, as they reach the end of the tunnel, they see that the fog had disappeared and the sky was bright. They also saw houses that were very close to the water, everything looked peaceful. After a while the boat stopped at the shore and everyone got off except the man that was rowing the boat. "That's as far as I go, good luck"

"Right, Thank you for taking such a risk" Tazuna said thanking him as he watched him sail away. He turns the Team 7 "Ok, take me to my home and I mean get me there in one piece"

"Right" Kakashi said leaving the shore with everyone. _The next ninja they send won't be chunin, they'll be jonin, elite ninja with deadly skills -sighs-_

They were walking peaceful at the start with Naruto ahead of everyone. However Sasuke caught up a little and was now walking besides him.

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a glare _I'm not letting Sasuke get all the glory this time, believe it!_ He then starts running ahead a little and was looking like he was searching for something. Everyone stopped and watched him. Naruto stopped and looked to the left "Over there" he said throwing a kunai knife into the bushes.

Everyone's eyes widen at that display and waited.

"Hmm, it was just a mouse" Naruto said trying to look and act cool

_There was nothing there!_ Hinata looked bit annoyed at Naruto

"Naruto, those are kunai knives, they're dangerous!" Kakashi said reminding his student the importance of ninja weapons.

Tazuna was growling "Stop trying to scare me, you little dwarf!" He yelled

Naruto ignored them and continued "Hey, is someone hiding over there? No! Or over there?"

Kakashi looked in a certain direction and as he was, Naruto threw a kunai in the same direction "Over there!"

"N-Naruto please, that e-enough! There nothing here" Hinata said

"What are you talking about?! Someone is following us, I know it" Naruto said to her

As they were talking, Kakashi went through the bushes to investigate and sees a snow white rabbit that almost came close to dying from the kunai Naruto threw.

Everyone went to see the rabbit, Naruto knelt down holding the rabbit, apologizing. Kakashi stood a small distance from the others thinking.

Hinata looked at the rabbit "T-This is a snow rabbit, b-but it's spring. I-It should have shed it's w-white fur by now" She said to herself

_Just what I'd except from my observant student. She's absolutely right, that type of rabbit only has white fur during winter when the days are short and there's little sunlight._ Kakashi thought looking around_ This rabbit was raised indoors, away from the light. Which can only be for one purpose, a replacement technique._

In the trees above them, a ninja, dressed in only pants, bandages wrapped around his nose and mouth, carrying a huge sword was watching them. Kakashi turned his head in the direction of the ninja but just enough so the ninja wouldn't notice that he was discovered. _So they're already here._

_Hmmm no wonder the demon brothers failed in their mission. It's the copy ninja from the village hidden in the leaves, Kakashi of the sharingan._ The ninja then moved, throwing his sword at the group.

Kakashi quickly notice the attack "Look out!" He said warning everyone. They saw the blade coming for them and quickly threw themselves on the ground dodging the blade. The blade hit a tree close to them and the ninja appeared, standing on the end of his sword, looking down on them.

_That must be.. _Kakashi thought looking up at the ninja with everyone else.

Naruto had this twitchy look on his face with his hands ready to action _Here it is, my chance to shine, Believe it!_ He then looked at Sasuke, _I'm ready this time, I'm not going to lose out to Sasuke!_

Hinata stood there, feeling nervous but focused waiting for the time to move. She looked over to her teammates, she saw Sasuke focusing on the enemy and saw Naruto with that look she knows all too well. _Please don't tell me he's thinking of besting Sasuke now?! I understand they are rivals but now is not the time!_

"Well, well if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist" Kakashi said walking close to the tree.

_Rogue ninja? Whatever, nothing gonna stop me. Ready, Go!_ Naruto goes charging but was blocked by Kakashi.

"You're in the way, get back" Kakashi said

"But why?!" Naruto asked annoyed

"He's not like those other ninja, he's in a whole other league. If he's our opponent, I'll need this" Kakashi said reaching for his headband. "This could be dangerous"

Zabuza looked down at Kakashi "Kakashi of the sharingan eye. Did I get that right?"

Sasuke's eye widen after hearing that and looks at Kakashi.

"It's too bad huh? But you'll have to hand over the old man" Zabuza said looking down at everyone

Kakashi glares at Zabuza, had his hand on his headband, ready to remove it.

_Sharingan? What is that?_ Naruto thought confused

_S-Sharingan?! But that's a visual jutsu only in the Uchiha clan, isn't it_? Hinata thought looking at her teacher and then over to Sasuke. _Did Sasuke know about this?_

"Now quick surround and protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight" Kakashi said to his students. "I taught you teamwork, now it's time to use it." He said, removing the headband from his right eyes, revealing his sharingan eye "I'm ready!"

Naruto looked at Kakashi's eye_ Gah! His eye?! What is that?!_

"Ah looks like I get to see the sharingan in action. This is an honor" Zabuza said

" Everyone keep saying sharingan, sharingan! Will someone please tell me what sharingan is?!" Naruto asked wanting to know

Sasuke spoke "Sharingan, a rare power that resides in the eyes. The user of this visual jutsu can easily comprehend any genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu and reflect the attack back at the attacker. The sharingan is a special, rare form of dojutsu, however there's more to the sharingan than that, a lot more."

"You got it right boy but you've only scratch the surface, the sharingan can analyze an opponent technique and then copy it to the smallest detail." Zabuza said

Then the area around everyone started to get foggy, as that happened Zabuza spoke "As for you jonin, as the assassination unit of the hidden mist, we have a standing order to destroy you on sight. Your profile was in our bingo book, they called you The Man Who Copied Over Thousand Jutsu, Kakashi the copy ninja"

_I've heard rumors about the copy ninja but I never thought that sensei would be that ninja!_ Hinata thought

Naruto smiled "Way that's so cool!"

Sasuke looked over to Kakashi with this analyzing look. _Wait a minute, the sharingan is a rare trait that occurs in only a few members of the Uchiha clan, my clan. Could he be?_

"Enough talking, I need to exterminate the old man now'" Zabuza said preparing to attack

Tazuna had this panicked look on his face and backed up a bit. The student then surrounded him in order to protect him with Hinata on the left, Sasuke in the middle and Naruto on the right. All of them with kunai knives in their hands.

"So, I'll have to eliminate you first Kakashi? So be it" Zabuza said removing his sword from the tree and disappeared, then reappeared standing on the lake beside the group.

The students looked at where the enemy was. "He's over there!" Naruto said. Hinata eyes widened a bit "H-He's standing on the water, but how?!"

Zabuza was in a stance with one arm folded in front of him with two fingers pointed up and the other arm raised above his head with two fingers pointed up too. The mist and water swirling around him.

_He's building up a huge amount of chakra K_akashi thought looking at his opponent

"Ninja art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" With that, Zabuza disappears into the mist

"He vanished" Naruto said looking at the spot Zabuza was before.

"K-Kakashi-sensei, what going to h-happen now?" Hinata asked

Kakashi got in front of his team, his back facing them "He'll come after me first"

"But w-who is this rogue n-ninja?" She said

"Zabuza Momochi, the ex-leader of the hidden mist assassination unit, he's a master of the silent killing technique" Kakashi said

"S-Silent?" Naruto questioned

"As the name suggests, it happens in an instant without sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast, you pass from this life without realizing what has happened. The sharingan can not fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard" Kakashi warned them. His students becoming a bit tense and nervous after that. "Well if we fail, we only lose our lives" he added

"S-Sensei that's n-not helping!" Hinata scolded him

Moments pass and nothing has happened, however the mist increases in that time.

"The mist is getting thicker and thicker!" Naruto pointed out

Tazuna spoke "The Land of Waves is surrounded by oceans, these mists are ever present"

Hinata looked in front of her and saw that their teacher disappeared in the mist "S-Sensei?!" She got close to the bridge builder and form hand signs "Byakugan!" She looks around the area, _This mist is full of chakra, I can't make out anything!_

"8 points" a voice said

Hinata heard the voice and looked around with her byakugan "I hear someone but I-I can't see them"

The voice continues "Legs, spine, lungs, liver, arteries, kidneys, heart now switch will be my kill point?"

Kakashi stands in the middle of the mist for a moment and form a hand sign, chakra surrounds him easily clearing the mist. His students covered their faces from the blast and could see him.

Sasuke starts sweating, losing himself, _What an intense thirst for blood! One shallow breath and tiny movement of the eyes, enough to bundle an instant death. If it goes on like this, I'll go insane. The clash of two jonin intent to kill, I've never felt anything so chilling, it's as if my own life is being chocked off. No! I can't bear it, I'd rather take my own life._ He then grips his kunai with both hands.

Hinata feels the tension in the air and the intent of both jonin, she was lucky that she was use to this feeling do to watching intense training sessions between the jonin of her clan. She turned and saw Sasuke shaking and Naruto unfazed. _Naruto may not understand this feeling but Sasuke does, it must be the first time for him, this feeling makes people go crazy or take their own lives._ She sees him grip his kunai tight and realize what he's about to do. _He needs reassurance. _She thought back at the other night when Sasuke assured her that they could complete this mission and smiled at her. With that in mind, Hinata gets a little closer to Sasuke and places her hand on his.

Sasuke jumped a little and looked down to see a hand on his own and turns to see Hinata facing him a assuring smile. Just by her smile, he calms down a little. After calming down, he gives her a small smile and nods thanks to her.

Hinata was glad that her teammate was ok again, she looks and sees his smile again and blushes a little, her heart beating fast. _W-Why does his smile do this to me? _

Kakashi turned and looked at the two. I_t seems Hinata has a calming affect on Sasuke, that's good. But I'll reassure them_ "Everyone, I'll protect you with my life, all of you. I will not allow my comrades to die, trust me" Kakashi said smiling through his mask.

"I wouldn't be so sure" Zabuza said appearing right in the middle of the formation the group made around Tazuna "It's over!"

Kakashi turned, focusing his sharingan on him, moving quick stabbing Zabuza in his abdomen with a kunai. However instead of blood pouring out, it was water. Another Zabuza appeared behind him.

Naruto pointed behind Kakashi "Sensei! Behind you!"

Kakashi turned to react, causing the Zabuza he stabbed turned into a puddle of water.

"Die!" With that, Zabuza slice Kakashi in two, smiling through his bandages. However he stopped smiling and his eyes widen when see saw him turn into water. _The water clone jutsu?! It can't be! Even in the mist, he saw through my illusion and copied it in an instant._

Before he could do anything, a kunai knife was to his neck "Don't move" Kakashi said, being the one holding the kunai. "Now, it's over, you're finished!"

Naruto and everyone looked at the two and Naruto shouts "Alright!"

Zabuza starts chuckles, which confused Kakashi "Finished? You really don't get it, do you? Your technique is nothing more than a craft imitation, I'll never be defeated by a mere copy cat ninja like you" Kakashi glared at him but he continues to chuckle "You are full of surprises though. You already copied my water clone jutsu when you made your little speech. Very skillfully executed, you made your clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist waiting for me to make my move." Suddenly Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and the Zabuza in front of him turn to water "Nice try but I'm not that easy to fool"

Naruto's eyes widen and shouts "Hey, that ones a clone too!"

Zabuza swings his sword to slice Kakashi but he ducks and the sword hits the ground. But Zabuza switched hands and kicks Kakashi hard, causing him to go flying and hit the lake. "Now!" Takes his sword and goes running to the water but stops when he sees spikes on the ground. "Makibishi spikes. Trying to slow me down, foolish" he thens backflips into the water.

"Sensei!" Naruto shouted in horror

"S-Sensei. H-He send him flying." Hinata said looking at where Kakashi landed

Sasuke narrow his eyes "He has great physical skill too"

Kakashi surfaces from the water but stops for a second _This isn't normal water, it's dense, heavy._

Zabuza appeared behind him and form hand signs "Ha, fool. Water Prison Jutsu!"

"No!" Before he could react, Kakashi was imprisoned in an orb of water. _Escaping in the water, bad mistake!_

Zabuza stood besides the orb with one hand in it, chuckling. "This prison is made of water but it's stronger than steel. It's hard to fight when you can't move, so much for The Great Kakashi . I'll finish you off later but start, your little friends will have to be eliminated" he forms a hand sign "Water Clone Jutsu!"

Kakashi grunts _He's even more skilled than I thought!_

Naruto watches in horror as another water clone of Zabuza begins to form. "You think wearing a headband makes you a ninja. When you've hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a ninja. When you've become so deadly, your profile is entered in my bingo book, then you may have earned the title ninja. But to call up-starts like you ninja is a joke." With that, the clone disappears into the mist.

Naruto froze _He disappeared again!_ Then out of nowhere, he was sent flying so hard, his headband fell off and he landed, hitting the ground hard.

The clone stepped at Naruto's headband and looked down at him "You're just brats!"

From a distance, his teammates turned and looked at him in shock and concern. "Naruto!" Hinata shouted

Kakashi grunts from his prison "Listen, get the bridge builder and run! You can't win this fight! He's using all his power to keep me in this prison, so he can only fight you with his water clone. But the clone can't go far from his real body, if you get away from him, he can't follow. Now run!"

_Run away? Not an option,_ Sasuke thought looking at Kakashi in his prison. _That became unthinkable the moment you got caught, no matter as fast we run or how far we go, he'll track us down and wipe us out. The formation we were in before he got around it in an instant. _He looked back to back at Naruto and Hinata and then back on the prison. _In the end, if we're on our own, we're finished. Our only chance of survival is to rescue you._ "We've got to do it!" He said charging at Zabuza

Hinata eyes widen in horror as she saw Sasuke running toward him "No, Sasuke, stop!"

The clone saw him coming and reach for his sword. Sasuke started throwing shuriken on him but he deflected them. Then Sasuke jumped to catch him off guard but the clone caught him by his neck and he struggled to get out of his grip and was thrown to the ground.

"Sasuke!" Hinata shouted wanting to help but couldn't move for her place because she was closet to Tazuna and had to protect him.

Naruto watched his teammate go down "He got Sasuke!" Then started shaking as he turned back and saw the clone looking at him. _So this is a jonin is, a true elite ninja! I-I-I got to get away. If I don't, seriously, he'll destroy me! _He then turns to crawl away but the pain of the wound he got from the demon brother came back. He looked at the bandaged wound, remembering the oath he made to never run away. He looked back at the clone and then at his headband the clone was stepping on, remembering how special it was because it first belonged to his father figure, Iruka and other memories up to this point. _That's right, I'm a ninja now, believe it! _He thought getting up, clutching his fists._ I swore an oath of pain, I won't run away! _He thought charging at him.

Shocked at the action, Kakashi yelled "Naruto, No!"

"Idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Sasuke yelled

Zabuza's clone chuckles watching the boy come at him "Fool" he said knocking him to the ground again.

Hinata looked at Naruto in shock "N-Naruto, are you o-ok? W-Why would you do that?! Sasuke couldn't even get to him, we are genin, w-we can't beat him, h-he's a jonin. What w-would you gain by-" she stopped when she looked in his hand and saw his headband. _H-He wanted his headband back?_

Naruto slowly got up grunting "Hey you, the freak with no eyebrows, put this in your bingo book. The ninja that will become Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves" putting on his headband and tightening it "He never backs down, his name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

_Naruto..._ Kakashi thought as Zabuza's clone trembles in anger

_I thought he was all talk but this kid got guts_ Tazuna thought looking at Naruto

"All right Sasuke, listen up. Can you hear me?" Naruto asked

"Yeah, I hear you" he replied

"I've got a plan" Naruto said

_Hmph, now he's got a plan, this guy.. _"So now you're thinking about teamwork?"

_He's so determined, I wish I was like he is_ Hinata thought

Naruto wipes the blood dripping from his chin "Alright guys, let's go wild!"

Zabuza chuckles "Big words for such a little man, you think you're plan is going to keep you in the game?"

Kakashi realize what's going on _This isn't good_ "What are you doing, I told you to run! The fight was over the moment I got caught! Now take off! Your mission is not to prove how brave you are, it's to save the bridge builder, stay on mission!"

Hinata was conflicted, she wanted to save her sensei but at the same time wanted to complete the mission. She looks at Tazuna "M-Mr. Tazuna?"

"Hmm well I guess this all happened because of me, because of my desire to live, but I won't let that stand in your way now." Tazuna said looking at them "Forget about me! Do what you have to do, go ahead and fight to save your sensei!"

Sasuke smirks a little "Alright, you hear that?"

"Yeah, believe it! You ready?" Naruto said

"Hinata, Naruto and I will take care of this, you protect the bridge builder" Sasuke said

"B-But I" she looked back and forth at them, when she looked back at Sasuke, he give her a reassured look and she sighs "O-Ok, good luck, you two"

Zabuza clone starts laughing, it's grows louder and louder by the second "You really haven't learned anything have you? Still playing your little game, pretending to be ninja." He said looking at his hand "When I was your age, this hand had already crushed many opponents"

The team gasps in horror. Kakashi looked at the real Zabuza beside him "Zabuza, the demon"

"Ah so I was in your book too?" Zabuza asked

Kakashi looked back at his students "Long ago, in the village hidden in the mist also known as blood mist village, before a student could become a ninja, there was one final test"

Zabuza looked at him "You know about the graduation exam?"

"What graduation exam?" Naruto asked but the clone chuckled "What's the big deal anyway? We had graduation test too!"

"Did you have to kill the other students to pass?" The clone asked, Naruto gasps at the question. "Imagine young ninja like you, eating together, training together and then come the final exam but only they change the rules, kill or be killed, you can't stop while your opponent still breathes. He was your friend, shared your dreams, now it's him or you"

Hinata look at him in horror, shaking a little "H-How cruel"

Kakashi explained "Ten years ago, in the village hidden in the mist, the graduation exam changed. One year before, a dark evil had filled the school with terror. "

Hinata thought for a minutes and gasps realizing "N-No way"

Naruto looked confused and scared "What terror? What cause the change?"

"Without pause or hesitation, a young boy who was not even a ninja approach the class and took down over hundred other students" Kakashi said answering the question

Zabuza's clone stood there for a moment and spoke "I-It..it felt so...Good!" He then looked at the genin.

Both Sasuke and Naruto stood in terror then in a instant Zabuza knocked Sasuke to the ground, causing him to slide on the dirt. Without giving time to recover, he elbowed Sasuke in the gut hard as he was flat on the ground causing him to cough up blood.

"Sasuke!" Hinata shouted watching in terror as her teammate was being beaten.

Zabuza's clone stepped on Sasuke's stomach hard and kept applying pressure causing Sasuke to grunt in pain and chuckles "You're nothing"

Naruto forms a hand sign "Stop right there! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" In a moment many clones of Naruto appeared.

"Oh shadow clones? And there's quite a few of them" the clone said looking around him

All the Naruto clones pulled out a kunai knife "Here we go!" jumping into the air and coming down on Zabuza's clone, luckily Sasuke got out of the way in time. There was a pause and then with a swing of his sword, Zabuza's clone cleared all the Naruto clones off him.

Both Hinata and Tazuna watched how he easily pushed all of the clone off him "His skills are too advanced, he's too powerful, there's no way to defeat him" Tazuna said

All Naruto's clones were pushed back, flying everywhere disappearing but the real Naruto was digging into his bag looking for something "I'm not giving up, I still got this!" He pulled out a large item and threw it to Sasuke.

Sasuke saw it and caught and realizes the plan, _So that was your plan, not bad Naruto!_

"Huh?" Zabuza's clone said confused

Sasuke unfolds the large item, revealing it to be a large shuriken "Demon Wind Shuriken! Windmill of Shadows!"

"A shuriken? You'll never touch me with that" The clone said

Sasuke got ready and jumped into the air, throwing the large shuriken. Zabuza's clone was ready for it but was surprised when it went around him and to his real body.

"So you pass the clone and aimed for my real body, smart" Zabuza said, catching the shuriken "But not smart enough!" Then he looks up to see a second one coming at him. _A second shuriken in the shadow of the first, The Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!_

_The second one is coming straight at him, with both hands occupied he won't be able to dodge_ Hinata thought watching the action

Sasuke and Naruto waited as the second shuriken got closer and closer to Zabuza, but just at the last second he jumped over the shuriken "I told you a shuriken can't touch me!"

Hinata was about to go into despair but then she saw Sasuke smirk,_ H-He's smirking?_ She looked back at the battle to see the second shuriken transformed into Naruto. Everyone except for Sasuke gasps in surprise at this.

Zabuza turned around with a wild look in his face "What?!"

"Eat this!" Naruto said throwing a kunai knife at him

Zabuza saw the kunai coming straight at him, removing his hand from the water prison in order to dodge it. But the kunai grazed him just below the eye and he turned to Naruto spinning the large shuriken he caught earlier and moves to attack "I'll destroy you!" Before he could get close to Naruto, Kakashi blocked one of the blades of the shuriken with his hand and give Zabuza a menacing look.

Hinata smiles "K-Kakashi sensei, you're ok."

Kakashi spoke as he was still blocking the shuriken, looking at his student in the water "Naruto, that was an excellent plan, you've really grown haven't you?"

Naruto grins "Ha Ha Ha I knew I couldn't beat him with my shadow clones, that was just to distract him. While he fought the clones, I turned into the Demon Wind Shuriken, he didn't know what to do, Believe It! I knew i couldn't fight Zabuza myself, that wasn't in the game plan. I just wanted to break up his water prison, I didn't know his clone would be gone too, that's a bonus, Believe it"

"Don't brag, you just lucked out" Sasuke said smirking

"The whole thing was just a fluke!" Tazuna said annoyed

_I'm not sure if it was a fluke or not but what I'm proud of is the teamwork those two showed, it was amazing! Even without telling each other, they still knew what to do. They make such great team, I wish they would act like this all the time_ Hinata thought smiling.

"Hmph, I got distracted and lost my grip on the water prison" Zabuza said

Kakashi glared "Don't flatter yourself, you weren't distracted, you were forced to let go"

Zabuza shoot Kakashi a look "Your technique worked on me once, but it won't work again. So what's it gonna be?" Kakashi asked

Everyone waited for Zabuza's answer, while they waited, Sasuke looked at Hinata "Hinata, you know what to do". "Right" she answered and the two blocked Tazuna.

Zabuza dug the blade of the shuriken into Kakashi's hand and fold it again, so that all four blades were cutting him. Kakashi knocked the shuriken out of his hand and send it flying. The two jonin jumped into the air, making distance between each other. As Zabuza was in the air, he began forming hand signs, with the sharingan, Kakashi copied each hand sign Zabuza was made, chanting the same words he was. Then they both shouted "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" From the water came two dragons, swirling around each other battling.

As that was happening, waves of water hit everyone, Naruto was caught in the wave since he was still in the water. A wave came at Sasuke and the other but they stood firmly on the ground trying not to have been washed away. Sasuke looked back at the jonin, _Wow, so many hand signs and he mirrored them all perfectly, instantly!_

Hinata was on her knees, checking the bridge builder to see if he was alright. _What a powerful jutsu!_

As the dragons were fighting above, Kakashi and Zabuza were fighting below, his kunai knife to Zabuza's large sword. Both of them trying to knock the other one off balance. _Something isn't right, the sharingan can comprehend and replicate the enemy's technique, however both jutsu occurred at the same time. Could he? _

From a distance, a masked ninja stood on a branch of one of the trees, watching the fight.

They both made distance between each other again and moved in harmony.

Zabuza looked at his opponent, thinking. _My movements, it's as if...it's as if he knows_ "What I'm going to do next" Kakashi said interrupting Zabuza's thought on the situation. _What?! Is he reading my mind as well?! He looks at me with that eye.. _"It makes you furious, doesn't it?" Kakashi asked copying his moves.

"Ha all you're doing is copying me, like a monkey!" Zabuza said "You can't best me with cheap tricks! I'll crush you!" Both jonin said at the same time. Zabuza became more furious at that "When I'm finished with you, you'll never open that monkey mouth of yours again!" He then see a shadow besides Kakashi and sees it's himself. _That's me! But how?! Is it his illusion jutsu?!_

As Zabuza was trying to figure out what was going on, Kakashi finished forming the hand signs for the jutsu "Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"

"What?! Impossible!" A giant swirling vortex appeared and washed Zabuza away. _I was about to create a vortex, but he created one first! _He thought as he was being thrown around in the jutsu. _He copies my jutsu before I can even do it! I can't keep up! _The jutsu ended, slamming him into a tree as that happened, kunai knives stabbed him and he yelled in pain. Above him on the tree he slammed into, Kakashi stood there, looking down on him. "You're finished"

Zabuza looked up at Kakashi "H-How?! Can you see into the future?!"

Kakashi took out a kunai knife "Yes, this is your last battle, ever!" Before anything, two needles came, stabbing Zabuza in the neck. Everyone gasps at what happened, Kakashi looks in the direction of where the needles came from and saw the masked ninja.

The masked ninja watched as Zabuza collapsed and chuckles "You were right, it was his last battle."

Kakashi jumped from the tree, landing in front of Zabuza's body. He laid his fingers on Zabuza's neck to check for a pulse and sighs "No vital signs" he says, looking up at the masked ninja again

The ninja bows "Thank you, I've been tracking Zabuza down for a long time, waiting for this chance to finally take him down."

"By your mask, I see that you're a tracker ninja from the village hidden in the mist"

"Impressive, you're well informed" The masked ninja said

Naruto came in the middle of Sasuke and Hinata, ready to fight again "A tracker!"

"You loser, you don't even know what that is, you missed the lesson on it. Try coming to class instead of goofing off" Sasuke said

"N-Naruto, tracker ninja h-have a special role. When a r-rogue ninja breaks a-away from his v-village, he carries t-the secrets of his people. T-Tracker ninja are training to h-hunt down this ninja and eliminate them. T-That way the secrets of t-their people remain s-secrets" Hinata explained

"That's right. I'm a member of the elite tracking unit of the village hidden in the mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza" The ninja said

_From his size and voice, he must be the same age as Naruto, yet he's an elite assassin. He's no ordinary kid but what is he?_ Kakashi thought

Naruto ran up to the tree, looking back and forward at the ninja and at Zabuza's body becoming more furious each time, then points his finger at the masked ninja "What the hell is this?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Kakashi got up "Easy Naruto, he's not our enemy"

Naruto turns to his teacher "That's not the point, did you see what he did? Just like that! Zabuza was huge and powerful just like some kind of monster and this kid, who's no bigger than me, he brought down Zabuza with one move like it was nothing. I mean what does that make us? We're just running around, we don't know anything! How can I accept that?!"

Kakashi walks up to his student and stops in front of him "Well even if you don't accept it, still it did happen Naruto" He ruffles and pats his head "In this world, there are kids younger than you and yet stronger than me"

The masked ninja came down and gathered Zabuza's body "Your struggle is over for now, I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body, they must not be allowed to get into the wrong hands. Please excuse me, farewell" with that he disappears with the body.

"He disappeared?!" Naruto said running to the spot the ninja was kneeling on.

"He's gone Naruto, let it go" Kakashi said hiding his sharingan again

Naruto groans in anger and falls on his knees, punching the ground "What are we going here?! We're nothing! I can't believe it!"

"Naruto" Hinata said watching his tantrum

Kakashi goes up to Naruto and grabs his arm before he could punch the ground again "As ninja, the things we encounter are never easy, save your anger for the next enemy" he said letting go of Naruto's arm and turning to the others "We haven't completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge"

Tazuna fixed his hat, smiling "Sorry I caused all this trouble for you, but you can rest at my house when we get to the village!"

"Alright, let's get a move on" Kakashi said as he began to walk but then he suddenly stops and collapses onto the ground.

Everyone gasps and ran to him. They all looked down at him, wondering what happened. Hinata knelt down beside him and checked him over "S-Sensei is ok, he's still alive". She activated her byakugan and checked his chakra levels "But he's lost a lot of chakra, w-we need to get him to the village s-so he can rest"

Sasuke nods and looks up "Ok, here's what we do, Naruto and I will carry Kakashi to the bridge builder's home, Hinata you stay near him and keep protecting him. Ok everyone?"

Everyone nods, Naruto and Sasuke each took a side and carried Kakashi on their shoulders and started walking. Hinata had a kunai ready in her hand and followed them with Tazuna close by her side as they made their way to his home.


	6. Tree climbing and Feeling

The team arrived at Tazuna's home in a matter of hours. Sasuke and Naruto went in and laid Kakashi on a futon laid out in an empty room by Tazuna's daughter. Everyone waited in the main room for Kakashi to wake up. After some time, Kakashi began to stir, waking up _I think I overdid it with my sharingan_ "Ah waking up I see. Are you alright?" Tazuna's daughter said as she came in to check on him. "I've been better, it'll be a week before I can move normally" He said getting up, holding his head 'See, it's better if you don't move so just lay down" she advised him "Right" with that, Kakashi laid back down on the futon. Soon after, everyone came into the room. "Hey look, Sensei is coming around" Naruto said Hinata walked up to the futon and knelt down next to Kakashi "S-Sensei I'm glad you're ok, b-but please if the sharingan takes this m-much out of you, I-it's better not to use it a-as much" "Sorry for worrying you guys" Kakashi said "Well he did take down one of the most powerful ninja assassins, so we'll be safe for a while" Tazuna said wiping his head with a towel "R-Right, but I'm still curious a-about that masked ninja" Hinata said "He's from the elite tracking unit of the village hidden in the mist, those masks are only wore by the most elite shinobi" Kakashi said "A-And what is it t-that they do?" Hinata asked "The ANBU Black Ops also known as the inferno squad destroy all traces of a rogue ninja's corpses. The shinobi's body contains many secrets ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines used on his body. Theses are the secrets of his village, if his enemies find them, his people will be in grave danger. For instance, if I were to die at the hands of an enemy, he would try to analyze my sharingan. In the worse case my entire jutsu could be stolen and used against our home village. It is the sacred duty of the shinobi trackers to prevent this, to keep the village secrets safe. If a ninja betrays his village the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him and obliterate every trace of his existence, that's their speciality." Kakashi explained. Then he sat up, holding his head feeling uneasy _What is this? If Zabuza is finished, why do I feel this way? Something's wrong, it's like I missed something._ "Hey, are you ok?! Sensei?" Naruto asked seeing the look on his teacher's face Kakashi was brought out of his thoughts and looked up at everyone "Hmm oh yeah, to finish what I was saying tracker ninja deal with the body immediately on the spot so there's no room for error" "Is that really important?" Naruto asked "Think about it, do you remember what that tracker did with Zabuza's body?" Kakashi asked his students "W-We're not sure, h-he must t-taken it away somewhere." Hinata said then thinks about it and eyes widen "B-But you said tracker m-must deal with the b-body on the s-spot!" "Exactly what I was thinking, Hinata. He should have worked on Zabuza right there. Think of the weapons he used for the take down. Do you remember what they were?" Sasuke thought about and his eyes widened "Throwing needles, no way!" "Exactly, none of it adds up" Kakashi said "What are you all talking about? You demolished that assassin" Tazuna said Kakashi sighs "Here's the truth, Zabuza is still alive" Everyone gasps, Naruto waves his arms around "But we saw his body, Believe it!" "S-Sensei y-you said t-there was no v-vital signs o-of life" Hinata said confused "That's true, his heart stopped but that was a temporary state to stimulate death. The weapons that tracker used can pierces deeply but lowly kill unless they hit a vital organ, not in the neck. They're modified for needles used for medical treatments. Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body, causing the heart to stop temporarily while keeping the body alive is an easy matter for them. First he carried Zabuza's body away even though it's much heavier than he is. Second he used those needles, which are rarely fatal. From thesis two factors, we can conclude that the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza, he was trying to save him" Kakashi explained Tazuna looks at Kakashi "Come on, you're overthinking this, aren't you?" "Encountering suspension, the ninja prepares quickly, hesitation leads to disaster, every shinobi knows this saying" Kakashi said then hears a grunt, looks over to see Naruto grinning _He's exactly pleased to hears Zabuza's alive, now Naruto got another shot at it_ "S-Sensei you said w-we must prepare q-quickly b-but you are unable to move m-much" Hinata pointed out Kakashi chuckles "I can still train you" "B-But even with your s-sharingan, it was difficult for you t-to defeat him. I-I'm not sure h-how last minute training will h-help us" "Hinata, I was able to stop Zabuza because you all helped me, you've grown" Kakashi said then turned, looking at Naruto smiling through his mask "Naruto, you've grown the most" Naruto smiles "so you've noticed Kakashi-sensei, now things are gonna get better, believe it!" "I don't believe it and nothing's going to be good" a voice behind them said Everyone turned to see a young boy, clothed in green overalls and a hat on his head, standing in the doorway. _What a cute little boy_ Hinata thought "Who are you?!" Naruto shouted pointing at the boy Tazuna kneels down and opens his arms for a hug "Gah! Inari, where've you been?!" "Welcome back, grandpa!" Inari said running into his grandfather's arms Inari's mother went up to him "Inari, that was very rude! These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely!" She said putting her hands on her hips "It's ok, it's ok I'm rude to them too" Tazuna said smiling and chuckling, patting his grandson's head Inari looked at the ninja and then at his mom "Mom don't you see? These people are going to die. Gatou and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out!" Naruto stood up angrily "What did you say, brat?!" He then points at Inari "Listen up, you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me only a lot better, I'm gonna be Hokage! This Gatou or Batou or whatever he's called is no match for a hero like me!" Inari looks at the ground "Ha there's no such thing as a hero" looking up at Naruto "You're just full of stupid ideas!" "What you say?!" Naruto said about to attack when surprisingly Hinata holds him back "D-Don't go harming a l-little boy, please c-calm down!" "If you want to stay alive, you should go back where you came from" Inari said as he heads to the door "Inari, wait where are you going?" Tazuna asked Inari opens the door "To look out at the ocean, I wanna be alone" he then closes the door. Tazuna looks back at the ninja "Sorry about that" Naruto grunts, still pissed off at what Inari said "Hinata, you can let go now, I'm fine" Hinata blushes realizing she was still holding onto him and let's go "O-Oh sorry about that" then blinks realizing something. _That's strange, even if I'm holding him back, touching him should make my heart beat faster than this. Shouldn't it? _She thought wondering what was going on with herself Naruto starts leaving the room "I'm going to the bathroom" he said closing the door. He only said that so no one would follow him, he was really going to look for Inari. He started stomping around the house, climbing the stairs "Who does that brat think he is?! I'm gonna put him in his place right now!" He said as reaches the top of the stairs and stomps down the hall. Then he hears Inari sobbing and stops "Huh?" He then gets close and peeks through the slightly opened door of Inari's room, looking at Inari. _He's crying? _ Inari was on top of his desk in front of an opened window, crying holding a picture of a man, a few teardrops went on the picture "No daddy no!" He said as he continues to cry. Naruto looks at the ground, feeling bad for Inari and walks away. That same day, Kakashi took his students to the forest for some training as he was on clutches. "Alright training starts now" "Right!" Naruto said energized "First, we will begin with a review of chakra, which is the ninja basic source of power. Understanding chakra is important!" Kakashi said "We know that" Sasuke said Naruto nods "He's right, a long time ago we learned about um catchra" "Chakra" Kakashi corrected him then looked at Hinata "Hinata would you please explain?" He asked Hinata nods and looked at her teammates "Y-You see chakra is the elemental life source a ninja uses in jutsu. I-It's the source of all his power. This energy h-has two forms, physical energy which e-exist in all the cell in the body, all working t-together. And spiritual energy, the p-primal source of power t-that grows t-through training and experience. These t-two energies must be drawn out in order t-to perform jutsu. Lastly hand signs focuses and releases the chakra." Kakashi smiles through his mask and pats her head "Right on all points, Iruka had some excellent students" Hinata smiles at the praise she received "Thank you, s-sensei" "What's the point of all these explanations? The whole point is to learn the jutsu, isn't it?" Naruto asked frustrated Sasuke spoke "Naruto is right for once. We're already using chakra energy in our jutsu." "No you have not mastered this power, you barely scratch the surface of it" Kakashi said "What do ya mean?!" Naruto said annoyed "Calm down and listen, it's just as Hinata said you have to draw on physical and spiritual energies and then combine them within yourself but how do you do that? Each jutsu requires types of chakra in different portions. You must select and combine them in exactly the right way. Up to now, you've just guessed at the portions, hoping they'd come out ok. Even if you produce a lot of chakra, unless you can balance and control, it's all worthless. The jutsu won't work at all or it'll just be a joke. You waste so much energy that way and then you're out of chakra and you can't fight at all, you're just a target." Kakashi said "So uh how do we change that?" Naruto asked "Train so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature. To achieve this goal you must be ready to put your life on the line" said Kakashi "W-What are we t-to do?"asked Hinata Kakashi chuckles "Climb a tree" "Climb a tree?!" The students asked surprised and confused "That's right but there's just one rule, no hands" Kakashi said showing his hands "What? You're kidding right?!" Naruto said "Am I? Let's see" Kakashi said as he formed a hand sign and after a few moments started to climb up the tree without using his hands. Everyone looked amazed "He climbing straight up with only his feet!" Naruto said Kakashi kept climbing until he hung upside down from the branch "Well you get the idea. Focus the chakra to the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to apply the power of chakra" "That's cool and all but how does it help us fight Zabuza?" Naruto asked "It's the only way to fight him, Naruto. That the entire goal of this training. First you'll learn how to draw a precise amount of chakra to a precise point in your body. This is difficult even for advance ninja, this type of climbing requires a sidle mix of physical and spiritual energy and the bottom of the feet are the most difficult points to focus chakra. Are you getting the picture? If you can master this, you'll be able to master any jutsu, well theoretically. Second point is to learn to maintain your chakra levels. When a ninja is focused in battle it's even harder to control and maintain his chakra level, a deadly mistake. To avoid this maintaining chakra must become second nature, effortless. Well I can talk about this all day but that won't advance your skills, will it? You need to apply the power of chakra through training" Kakashi said then threw three kunai knives at the ground, near his students feet. "Use the kunai knife to make the tree at highest point you can climb without using your hands. Then try to get pass that mark the next time and the next. At first you'll need to run up the tree so that your momentum can take you as high as possible, until you get use to it, ready?" Naruto takes the kunai out of the ground and grins "I'm more than ready! This is gonna be no sweat all the way, believe it!" Then looks up at his sensei "Remember what you said Sensei, I'm the one whose grown the most!" "You're definitely the one who talks the most, now get focus and do it!" Kakashi said _Ok first I need to draw the chakra to the bottom of my feet_ Naruto thought as he and the others closed their eyes and focused their chakra. After a few moments, Naruto opened his eyes "I got it! Charge!" The students starting up the trees like Kakashi instructed. Naruto only took two steps up and falls backwards on his head, whining and grunting. Sasuke was running up the tree, trying to get as far as he could. However when he took another step, the surface of the tree break and he starts the fall but not before he marks his point on the tree and lands safely on the ground. _This is harder than I thought, the balance has to be perfect. If the chakra is too strong, it smashes the tree and pushes you off _he thought as he looked beside and sees Naruto rolling on the ground holding his head. _But if it's not strong enough, you just tumble back down like Naruto. I hope Hinata isn't in the same state as he is._ He looks to the tree where Hinata was but doesn't see her, then looks up and eyes widen. "Well that's about what I excepted from Sasuke and Naruto" Kakashi said to himself as he looked at his two male students, then saw Sasuke looking up at the tree Hinata was using and turned to see Hinata sitting on the branch of the tree. "I-Is this ok, sensei?" Hinata asked Kakashi smiles through his mask "That's very good Hinata! Nicely done" Naruto gets off the ground and looks up "I guess you did ok" _It really ticks me off that she could do it and I couldn't._ Hinata looks at Naruto and sighs _just ok? I thought he would be happy for me but he seem annoyed. _ Sasuke glares at Naruto for his response to Hinata "She did a lot more than you did, loser" Naruto glares at him "What you say?!" Sasuke ignores him and looks up at Hinata and gives an encouraging look, he would smile but he didn't want Kakashi or Naruto to see him "You did good Hinata, I know your determination would bring you far" Hinata's heart started to pound hard and her cheek were warm at Sasuke's words _Oh Sasuke, that was very sweet_ then smiles "T-Thank you guys" "We'll not only does Hinata understand chakra, she can control and maintain it as well. We talked about someone becoming Hokage one day right? Seems like Hinata got the best chance of that, wouldn't you say? And as for the great Uchiha clan, maybe they're not so great after all" Kakashi said to the boys. "S-Sensei that was u-uncalled for!" Hinata scolded him _Why would sensei say such mean things like that?_ Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, theirs eyes narrowed with sudden motivation. _Alright, I think they're motivated, of course Naruto and Sasuke both have far more chakra within. If his training works, their mastery of chakra will become a valuable asset. _Kakashi thought catching a look at the expressions on their faces "Alright! First I'll match Sasuke, then I'm going all the way to the top! Believe it!" Naruto said determined. From a distance, Inari was watching them train. After hearing what Naruto said, he started walking away thinking about the man in the picture he was holding while crying "Hah, what a waste of time. They don't know what they're up against" Hours pass and team 7 were still in the woods training. Naruto ran up the tree again only to fall once again, adding to the injuries already on his head. Sasuke was panting, kneeling on one knee as he looked up at the marks he made on the tree. Hinata was on her knees, panting looking at her teammates. _I'm so tired, how are Naruto and Sasuke about to keep going like this?_ Hinata thought looking at the marks on both of her teammates trees. _They're making progress, I think that's good but I don't think Naruto likes his progress at all,_ she looks as he was throwing a tantrum. Kakashi sighs, looking at his team_ I guess that's it for today, they all are exhausted_"Ok team, that's enough for today" "What?! No way, I can keep going!" Naruto argued "Until what? You die from using too much chakra. We have time, save your energy until tomorrow" Kakashi said Naruto sighs and nods "Ok, let's get back to the house" Kakashi said as he started to walk back with his team follow. Sasuke follows but then a wave of dizziness hits him, collapsing onto his knees. Hinata sees this "Sensei, S-Sasuke collapsed!" rushes to him and kneels next to him "S-Sasuke, are you o-ok?" Sasuke shakes his head, getting the dizziness out of his head "I'm f-fine, just tired" Kakashi looks at his students "I'm not surprised, your chakra control was unstable, you were using too much of it, so it's natural you'd be a bit dizzy. Naruto help him up on our way back" "No way, I'm not touching Sasuke, not until he says sorry for calling me a loser!" Naruto said folding his arms _I never thought Naruto would be immature like this. I know they are rivals and all but we are still teammates_ Hinata thought as she looked up at Naruto and then at Sasuke "I-I'll help him" she said blushing as she put his arm over her shoulder and helps him up. "Thank you Hinata, at least someone is showing team spirit" Kakashi said as he started walking again with Naruto following close behind him Sasuke and Hinata were not far behind, but going slow as Hinata was supporting some of Sasuke's weight. He looks at Hinata "you don't have to do this" "I d-don't mind, Sasuke. Y-You need help a-and I'm happy to do w-what I c-can" Hinata said turned to look at him and their eyes meet. Hinata looks into Sasuke's eyes and Sasuke looks into hinata's eyes. _I see why the other girls like him, he really is handsome _Hinata thought then realizes she was still looking at him and turns away from him, blushing hard "S-S-Sorry Sasuke!" Sasuke looks the other way blushing as they started walking again "Don't worry about it" he said. Then at the corner of his eye, he peeked at Hinata. _She really is different from all those other girls._ He thought as he looked back on the survival exercise, the night after the demon brothers attacked and when they first fought Zabuza. His eyes widen as he realized the answer to the question he asked himself the night they camped out. _So that's why I've been feeling this way, it's because...I really like Hinata. _ The next morning came and everyone were doing what was needed to be done. Kakashi was still recovering but felt better enough to go on guard duty. He told everyone their assignments. Hinata was to guard the bridge builder that morning since she was the only one that mastered the tree climbing technique. As for the boys, he told them to continue to try and master the technique. Hinata sat on one of the metal poles looking at the men at work on the bridge and yawns, rubbing her eyes. "You always this lazy?" She look in the direction of the voice and sees it's Tazuna carrying a larger piece of metal over his shoulder. "Where's that weird blond kid and the other one with the attitude?" _I'm not sure you're one to talk when it comes to attitude _"T-They're in the f-forest, t-training by c-climbing trees" Hinata said "Too tough for you?" He asked "N-No I mastered the t-tree climbing technique, so K-Kakashi-sensei sent me here to guard you" she said "I see" Tazuna said as he put down what he was carrying One of the workers walked on to him "Tazuna I need to talk to you" Tazuna turned and looked at him "What about?" "Thing is I've been thinking a lot about the bridge and I decided I've push my luck far enough, I want out" the worker said "Now you going to quit on me, just like that?! You're kidding!" Tazuna said angrily "You know, I stayed on because of our friendship but I'm putting my life on the line everyday I stay here. Gatou and his thugs will show up eventually and when they do, they'll kill you and the bridge will never be finished anyway. It's a lost cause Tazuna, why don't we stop now while we can still get out of this alive?" The worker asked Hinata was watching and listening to the whole conservation, having a concerned look on her face, waiting for the bridge builder's response. "No chance" Tazuna said "Huh?!" "This is our bridge. Our island is poor and it will stay that way until this bridge connects us to the main land. Calm, trade and hope that's what we're building here!" "There's not going to be much hope if we're all dead" Tazuna looks at his worker "It's already noon, let's break for lunch" he said walking pass the worker. The worker turns, holding out his hand "Tazuna, let's not end it like this" "Save your breath. Oh and don't bother coming back after lunch" Tazuna said as he continues to leave. Hinata sat there as he walked away and looked at the ground, feeling sad that a friendship ended because of this bridge that was suppose to be hope to the people of this island. A hand came onto her shoulder and she turned to see her sensei, smiling down at her. "Don't worry too much about it, Hinata. This is how life is" Kakashi said as he watched the worker leave "In these types of situations, some friendships are strengthen, others are lost. One cares for the hope and will continue on, the other cares for his life. I know it seems unfair but that's life" Hinata looked at the ground and nods._ I wish things could be different though._ Kakashi pats her head "Why don't you go back to the house and guard Mr. Tazuna's daughter and grandson? I'll take care of things here" "B-But sensei you're still recovering" she pointed out "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, now go on" he said chuckling Hinata get up and started walking but looked back at her sensei and sees him waving, telling her it's ok. With that, she takes off back to the house. Minutes after, she arrived at the home to see Tazuna's daughter coming out with her purse. Tazuna daughter looked up and sees Hinata "Oh hello. I guess now you're going to be guarding me?" "Y-Yes, my sensei will be g-guarding your father. So um w-where is your s-son?" Hinata asked not seeing him with his mother. "Inari is at a friend's house playing. So this can give us some girl time. I'm glad too, living in a house with only boys is so exhausting. It's refreshing to talk to a girl now. So I'm off for groceries for tonight's dinner, I'm sure you'll be accompanying me?" She said as she started walking in the direction of the stores Hinata nods and follows her, they walk in silence for a couple of minutes. Inari's mother was growing tired of it and begins to speak " So Hinata, that's your name was right?" "Y-Yes" "I never told you or your friends my name, that was rude of me. My name is Tsunami, feel free to call me by my name no matter what my father says" She said "O-Ok, thank you" Hinata said smiling "So girl to girl, I see that you may have a crush on a certain boy." Tsunami said teasing her Hinata blushes hard and looks at the ground "W-Well I u-um" Tsunami giggles "It's ok, you can tell me, beside soon you and your friends will be leaving. So there's no way for me to tell them, no that I would anyway. So who is it? Is it someone on your team?" Hinata thought about what she said _It would be nice to talk about it _"I-It's N-Naruto" Tsunami eyes widen "The blonde boy?" She asked and sees Hinata nods._ I was so sure it was the other one_ she thought then looked down at Hinata and sees a confused look on her face after giving her answer. _She seems confused after giving me her response. Maybe I can help_ "Hinata if you don't mind me asking, why is it that you like him?" Hinata fidgets with her fingers "W-Well no matter what p-people say about him, N-Naruto doesn't let it get to him. He has a lot of confidence in himself and I w-wish I was like that t-too" Tsunami looks at Hinata, then back at the road "Well hinata in my opinion, you seem to admire him instead of love him" Hinata eyes widen and looks at her with a confused look Tsunami sees this and smiles at her "Did you know there's a difference between admire and love?" "I-I alway thought they were the same" Hinata said "Well some people think that but they're not. You see admiration is like looking up to someone for something like a talent or features one person has. It usually in the form of respect. In your case you see Naruto for his confidences and determination" Tsunami said Hinata eyes widen _Have I really just admired Naruto all this time? Could that be why my heart wasn't racing when I touched him the other day?_ "W-What about Love?" Tsunami smiles "Well Love comes from the heart. It's like you get that intense beating in your heart so hard to explain that sometimes your hearts skips a beat." looks at Hinata "To sum it up, when you admire someone you want to be like them, when you love someone, you want to be with them" Hinata places her hand over her heart, thinking about what she was just told and all the time she has been watching Naruto. _I have a lot to think about _Hinata thought "I s-see, thank you f-for explaining this" Tsunami smiles "It's no problem". She looks around and sees the store she needs to go into "Here we are" Hinata goes into the store with her, looks around and see very little items and food._This is a store? There's barely anything here. _Then she sees a man coming up from behind Tsunami trying to take her purse and moves grabbing his hand "W-What are you doing?!" "S-Shit!" The man said throwing a punch at Hinata but she dodges and moves behind him attacking the pressure points of his neck causing him to pass out. Tsunami saw the whole thing and smiles "I'm amazed, thank you Hinata" she says as she was paying for the groceries. Hinata looked at her "Y-You're welcome but weren't you scared?" Tsunami exits the store with Hinata and begins their way home "A little but I knew you wouldn't let anything happen to me. You're a strong girl Hinata, I just know it" Hinata smiles feeling a bit more confident in herself "Thank you" As they were walking, Hinata observed the town, seeing homeless kids sitting against building, seeing one rob a store and run away as the owner was chasing him. _I was so caught up in my conservation with Tsunami, I didn't see how truly poor this town is. Tazuna was right, the Land of Waves is a impoverish nation._ She was brought out off her thought by a tug behind her jacket. She turned to see a little boy probably around Inari's age look up at her. The little boy hold out his hands "Please!" He said smiling. Hinata looked at him, his clothes were worn out and he had scratches around his body. She give a sad smile and dig into her bag and pull at the lunch she brought for herself "H-Here you go" The little boy smiled brightly "Oh thank you so much" he said then ran off, holding the box of food close to him. Hinata wipes some of the tears that came to her eyes "This is how it's been since Gatou came here. The children suffer and the adults are too afraid to stand on to him" Tsunami said. Hinata looked up at her and she looked back "They've lost all hope. That's why my father is determine to finish the bridge. It'll bring comers and trade, not only that my father believe it to be a symbol of courage. We must restore the spirit of our people." Then she smiles "When this bridge is finished, people will start to believe again, that they can live with dignity. We can't let Gatou stop my father!" Hinata looks at her and then looks in the direction of where the forest is. _Sasuke, Naruto we must help these people!_ Tsunami looks in the direction Hinata was looking and smiles "Hinata, can you cook?" "O-Oh yes, cooking is o-one of my favorite h-hobbies" Hinata said "Then let's get back to the house and cook dinner for your friends and everyone else. I could use the help" "O-Ok I'd be happy to help!" Hinata said smiling They got back to the house and send the next couple of hours cooking. By the time they were done, all the boys came home, sitting at the table. Hinata came out of the kitchen with Tsunami with plates of food and pass them around. She sat down in the middle of the table while Naruto and Sasuke sat at the table's sides, glaring at each other. _I wonder what happened between them this time _she thought as she begin to eat. Tazuna chuckles "This is fantastic! It's been ages seen we've had so many guest around the table" he said as he watched Hinata and Kakashi eat calmly while Sasuke and Naruto were trying to finish their food first "I want some more!" They both said finishing their first plate and glares at each other but both turn blue and started to puke. "You s-shouldn't be eating l-like that if t-this is the result of it" Hinata said to the boys "I..have to eat!" Sasuke said wiping his mouth, looking at her "And I have to eat more than him, it's the only possible way I'll get strong enough to beat him" Naruto said Kakashi nods "That's true but puking won't help you" After dinner, everyone was sitting down relaxing but Hinata took it upon herself to look fully look around the house. A torn picture caught her attention "E-Excuse me but t-this picture seems to have b-been torn. I-Inari you w-were looking at this picture all through d-dinner. There seemed to h-have been someone e-else in the picture b-but was removed" The members of Tazuna's family stiffen as she mention the picture. Tsunami recovered first and continued doing what she doing "It's my husband" "They use to call him a hero in this land" Tazuna said looking mournful Inari got up from the table and head to the door. Tsunami looked back and saw him leaving "Inari, where are you going?!" He ignored his mother and slammed the door. Tsunami stopped what she was doing and went after her son "Father you can't talk about him like that in front of Inari, you know that!" She said closing the door behind her. Everyone looked at the door Inari and Tsunami went through. "W-What happened to I-Inari?" Hinata said "Hmm, is there a story behind this?" Kakashi asked Tazuna "He wasn't his real father, he came into our family later and brought so much happiness. He and Inari were very close." Tazuna said then he voice became shakily "In those days, Inari use to laugh all the time" He started to clutch his fist "B-But then" everyone looked at him as a few of his tears fell on the table "All that ended! Inari never laughs or smiles anymore. Ever since the day everything changed. The word courage was stolen from this island. We were left feeling powerless, hopeless and Inari suffered the most, ever since that day, ever since it happened!" "Tell us, what happened to Inari?" Kakashi asked as he and his students gave Tazuna their full attention. Tazuna took off his glasses and wiped his tears "First you need to know about the man, his father. The man who taught us the word courage, who was a hero in this land" "A hero, really?" Naruto asked "You can decide that for yourself. He came here about 3 years ago. His name was Kaiza, a simple fisherman who came here from another land to follow his dreams. Inari and Kaiza were inseparable, the boy had never known his real father, so you can imagine what it meant to him to have Kaiza in his life. He looked up to him and followed in his foot steps like a real father and son. Kaiza spent more and more time with us until he just naturally became a member of our family. And then when this town needed him, he became something more." Tazuna said as he told about what Kaiza did "From that time on, Kaiza was consider a hero in this land, he taught us all the meaning of courage and Inari was so proud to be his son. But it wasn't long after that Gatou showed up and took over. He terrorized the whole village, only Kaiza stood up to him and Gatou couldn't have a local hero getting in his way. It took his whole gang to stop one man" Then Tazuna told them about the day of the execution. "Since then, Inari has changed, so did Tsunami and all our people. We lost our will." Naruto sat there thinking back on what Inari said about being a hero and how he saw Inari crying in his room. He then got up and try to move but fell flat on his face. Everyone looked at him "You better take the day off, no more training. You've used too much chakra, you keep pushing it and it could kill you" Kakashi said as he watched his blond student struggle to get up " I'm going to prove it!" Naruto said "P-Prove what?" Hinata asked Naruto stands up with shaky legs "That it's true. That in this world there are real heroes!" With that said, Naruto rushed out as fast as he could into the night to train some more. The next morning came and Naruto was laying in the grass asleep with scratches on his face and a kunai knife still in his hand. The birds that were on him flew away as a stranger wearing a pink kimono walked up to him and shook him. "You'll catch a cold if you sleep here, wake up" Naruto wakes up, rubbing his eyes looking at the stranger "Who the heck are you?" He said as he blushed getting a good look at the stranger. "I mean, hi there where did you come from? You know what are you doing out here and all that" "I'm gathering herbs" "Herbs?" Naruto asked "Yes, that's right. They're for treating illnesses and healing wounds" After being woken up, Naruto volunteers to help the stranger gather herbs. "You start work early, huh sis?" Naruto asked "I like it early. It's calm but I didn't think I'd find anyone sleeping out here in the woods" Naruto chuckles and grins "I'm training!" The stranger looked surprise "Are you a ninja? Because I noticed that headband you're wearing. Or are you just making a fashion statement?" Naruto blushes "You noticed that?! Alright! Only super cool ninja can wear these!" "Oh really? I see that's very impressive but does that mean you're training for something dangerous?" "I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger!" Naruto stated "You seem very strong now isn't that enough?" The stranger asked "No, No I need to get stronger and stronger. I have to keep practicing!" "Why is it so important?" Naruto pumps his fist "So I can become the best ninja in my village, so everyone will know who I am and they'll all respect me. There's also a certain person I kid that I have to prove something to!" "So are you doing it for this certain person or all you doing all this training for yourself?" Naruto looked confused "Huh?" The stranger starts giggling "Hey, what are you laughing about? What's so funny?!" Naruto asked a but annoyed The stranger stops giggling and looks at Naruto, smiling "Is there someone who's precious to you?" "Someone who's.. What are you saying, sis? What do you mean precious?" The stranger seemed to be lost in thought, Naruto was sitting there waiting. _Hmm what's she thinking?_ The stranger looked up at him "You see, when a person has something they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong" Naruto looked at the stranger, thinking about what he just heard and thought back to Kaiza protecting the village, Kakashi protecting the team from Zabuza and Iruka protecting him from Mizuki. "Yeah I hear you, I know exactly what you're saying" The stranger smiled and starts to get up and grabs the basket of herbs "You will get strong, very strong. Goodbye, we'll meet again sometime" starts walking away but stops for a moment "Oh, by the way I'm a boy" with that he went on his way _NO WAY, HE'S PRETTIER THAN SAKURA! _Naruto thought as he got the shock of his life Sasuke was in the woods taking a walk and looking for Naruto. He saw the stranger Naruto was talking to walking towards him as he was walking,my hey passed each other but Sasuke looked back at him. Then he heard a voice and turned to see Naruto talking to himself and whacked him on the head. "What the hell was that for?!" Naruto asked rubbing his head "You little twerp, did you forget about breakfast? You really are a loser" Sasuke said Naruto looked up at him and grins and starts telling him about what he and the stranger were talking about. Kakashi and Hinata were in the woods, looking for the boys after they didn't come back to the house "I-I wonder why are they? N-Naruto was out all night and S-Sasuke haven't come back since breakfast" Hinata said worried about her teammates Out of nowhere, a kunai knife came landed before Hinata and Kakashi. They looked and saw Naruto high in the tree grinning. "H-He's so h-high up now!" Hinata said "What do ya think?! High enough for you guys. I mean it's a long way down!" Naruto said as stood up on the branch he was laying and and slips starting to fall "Naruto!" Hinata shouted "Uh oh" Kakashi said Instead of falling, Naruto used his chakra and was now standing underside down from the tree, grinning and laughing "Ha Ha just kidding! You guys really fell for it!" "T-That's not funny Naruto! Y-You can't play like that w-when you're up so high" Hinata said scolding him. _He really is immature!_ "Why do I think this is going to end badly?" Kakashi wondered As Kakashi predicted, Naruto lost control of his chakra and started to fall. Kakashi eyes widen and Hinata screamed. Before Naruto could get far from the branch he fell from, Sasuke ran up the tree beside the one Naruto was on and jumps on the branch catching Naruto by his ankle while using the tree climbing technique to himself from falling. "You really are a loser, Naruto" Naruto looks up "S-Sasuke?!" Hinata looked up and sighs in relief "Sasuke s-saved him thank goodness!" _If I'm still sane by the time I'm finished with their training, it will be a miracle_ Kakashi thought smiling through his mask "Alright, so are you guys coming back to the house?" "I'll be staying here to train. I have to make sure I have this technique mastered perfectly" Sasuke said as he and Naruto got down. "Yeah me too, I won't let Sasuke get the best of me!" Naruto said Kakashi sighs "Alright then but don't push it, can't have you two dying from lack of chakra. Let's go Hinata" he said as he turned to walk back "O-Ok sensei" she said as she watched Naruto go back to the tree, Sasuke was about to follow "S-Sasuke wait!" Sasuke stopped and turned to her "Need something,Hinata?" She shook her head and pulled out a bottle of water and some crackers from her weapon pouch "H-Here, take this" Sasuke looked at them and took them, looking at her. "Y-You were exhausted from u-using too much chakra last time. I-I thought this could help keep your s-strength up" Hinata explained with a smile _She really is cute when she smiles _Sasuke thought as he was looking at her, putting them in his pouch and smiled at Hinata "Thank you for caring, I'll use them when I need to" with that said, he ran back to the tree and started climbing Hinata stood there for a moment with her hand above her racing heart. _That smile of his.._she thought as she began to smile and blush _..really makes me happy._ With that, she turned and ran back to catch up with Kakashi By the time it was dark, Naruto and Sasuke returned from the woods saying that they reached all the way to the top. Kakashi congratulated them and said that all of his students are going to guard Tazuna the next day. "In a few days, the bridge was be finished, I have you to thank for that" Tazuna said "You've all done great but you still have to be careful" Tsunami advised Tazuna looked at Kakashi "I've been meaning to ask you this, but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay to protect me even after you found out I lied to bring you here?" "Those who stray from the path of justice, have no courage. But under the wing of a strong leader cowardliness can not survive" Kakashi said "Huh?" Tsunami asked "That was a quote from the First Hokage" Kakashi stated Inari looked at him then at Naruto and thought back about the memories of his father on the day he was called a hero and the day he was executed and started to tremble. Then he thought about the picture of his father he had in his room, tears start falling onto the table "But why?" Naruto looked up at Inari "Hmm what you say?" Inari slams his hands on the table, standing from his seat, glaring at him "All this training is just a waste of time! Gatou has a whole army, they'll beat you down and they'll destroy you. These cool things you all say they don't mean anything! No matter what you do, the strong alway wins and the weak always lose!" "Just speak for yourself, it wouldn't be like that for me. You got that?" Naruto stated "Why don't you be quiet?! Just looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! Always laughing and playing around, you don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt!" Naruto stiffens at that last sentence "Listen to yourself whining and complaining, like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care!" He looks up giving Inari a glare "You're nothing but a coward!" "Naruto, y-you shouldn't have s-said that" Hinata said scolding him Naruto grunts and walks away with his hands in his pockets Kakashi watched as Inari continued to cry at the table and got up and went out the door. He give Inari a few minutes to himself and went out to see that Inari was sitting at the edge of the porch, hugging his knee, looking out at the water "Can I talk to you?" Inari turned to see Kakashi sitting next to him but doesn't say a word, turning back to the ocean. "Naruto can be a little harsh sometimes but he doesn't hate you. Your grandfather told us what happened...to your father. You probably don't know this but Naruto also didn't know his father, in fact he didn't know neither of his parents and he didn't have a single friend in our village." "Huh?" Inari said looking up at Kakashi "Still I've never seen him cry, sulk or give up. He's always eager to jump in, he wants to be respected, that's his dream. And he'll put his life on the line for that in a heartbeat" Kakashi said as he remembered the moments Naruto was most determined "My guess is he just got tired of crying and decided to do something about it." Inari thought back to his father and turned his sight to the water. "Even though he's young and still learning, he knows what it means to be strong, like your father did. I think he knows better than any of us what you're going through" Kakashi saw Inari looking at him and looked back "What Naruto told you earlier, as cruel as it sounded, he's probably told himself that a thousand times" Kakashi said smiling through his mask as he started to get up and looked at the sky "it's late, you should get to sleep" Inari nodded, getting up going back in the house. As he was on his way to his room, he heard snoring and peeked through in the room the snoring was coming from and saw Naruto in his pjs, already asleep. He stood there watching him for a few minutes thinking back at what Kakashi said and walked to his room, retiring for the night. 


End file.
